Up In Arms
by Spinosa
Summary: Sequel To Dementia. Life is never easy, especially when you're training as a SHIELD agent. Emma is about to learn this the hard way as she struggles through not only her training, but her not so normal life as well. Rated T for safety. Based off of a song by Hillsong United.
1. Chapter 1

"**Oh Lord have mercy on this weary soul, Come and take me to the river and make me whole, It's down with the old up with the new, The hard reset my life take two, Oh Lord have mercy on this weary soul I've got a new lease on life, They say you only live once, But I live twice, I've got a new lease on life, I've got a new lease on life, Yeah...**" New Lease On Life, MercyMe

* * *

**Chapter One**

Everything was quiet. The hallways normally buzzing with activity were strangely empty. This was what I would call a not-so-average school day. Normally students were rushing off to get to class before the bell rang. Or busy chattering away about the latest gossip.

And lately I've been part of the biggest gossips around town. Leaning against a locker, I thought back to everything that had happened.

I made no new friends. Casey had formed a small group consisting of four girls and two boys. One of them being Erin, the girl at the bookstore. Surprisingly I was okay with this. She was once one of my best friends. And that had changed during the summer.

You see, I somehow got transported to a different universe. Here I didn't exist. Or I wasn't supposed to exist. Apparently all of my files, including my birth certificate, had been wiped clean from the system. From what I was told the Tesseract was to blame for this.

The first thought that came to mind was that this was all just a bad dream. That sooner or later I would have to wake up. Getting stabbed in the stomach by Loki was like a huge wake-up call for me. I jumped behind Agent Coulson to keep Loki from killing him. Because of my 'heroic' actions, Director Fury of SHIELD had offered me a place in the agency.

Now during the weekends and vacations I was being trained by two of SHIELD's top assassins, and my favorite Avengers. So far I've learned how to kill people ten different ways without using a weapon. It's not something I was proud of, but it was part of training.

"Miss Karson, you're late!" I flinched as I heard someone shouting my name down the hallway. The face of a teacher - Mr. Ivan - peered from out of the classroom in question.

It was one of those moments I wished I wasn't at school. But summer vacation was over and the project I had to work on weeks before finished. Without any partners to work on the project I had asked Tony for some help. Luckily together we finished it in two days, just before school started.

As I sat down I thought of the list of chores that needed to be finished after school was over. First I had training with Natasha, and lessons from Clint. Yes, I was learning archery. My eyesight might not be as good as the master marksmen, but I was getting better with each lesson. At least that was what Fury kept telling me.

The day went on at about the same pace. I kept to myself as other students started packing up after the final bell. Took a test in the first half of the day, and I wasn't sure whether or not I aced it. With all the training I've been getting I haven't exactly had time for studying. Fury had warned me that training would make my school like that much more difficult. He had even offered to take me out of school for a while to adjust. But of course I turned his offer down.

I wanted this to be a challenge. To see if I was capable of dealing with the stress while keeping my new-found powers at bay. Yeah, I may have forgotten to mention that the Tesseract somehow gave me powers. I could heal my wounds and the wounds of others, with the cost of draining all my energy. And on top of it I could fire an energy shot that was similar to a repulser blast. There was still so much that I needed to learn.

"Hey, you were that girl from the battle in New York, weren't you?" I froze at the sound of a familiar voice. Turning on a heel I noticed Casey was standing beside Erin, hoisting up a backpack over her shoulder. She didn't recognize me as a friend, but as someone who fought alongside the Avengers during the Chitauri invasion. "I recognized your face from the news broadcast a few days ago," she explained as I stared at her with hard eyes.

"Yeah and your point is?" I held on to my backpack, letting it go lopsided as I thought over what to say. If any one of these students knew I was training as a SHIELD agent, they'd probably freak out.

"That was... really brave, what you did," Casey said. "I remember you from the bookstore too."

Ah, I was wondering when she would get to that. I may have made a big scene at the bookstore prior to the big battle in the city. Let's just say I was shell-shocked when Casey didn't remember me. And the movie Avengers had not even come out when it was supposed to. Did I forget to mention I was stuck in this world?

I jumped when my phone began to vibrate. By now I'd gotten used to getting phone calls at random times of the day and night. Every now and than I would get a call to skip class or skip school all together. A few students had begun to talk about that. Some were genuinely curious about where I was going all the time. And others believed that I was an accident waiting to happen.

"I should uh, probably go," I murmured after looking at the text message. Casey just nodded and whispered something to Erin, who in return let out a bark of unnecessary laughter. It took everything I had not to roll my eyes.

They were just teenagers. It's not like they would know that I've grown up or have gotten a little more mature over the summer.

The text had come from Natasha. Judging from how serious the message looked, something must have happened while I was in class. This should be fun.

. . .

"There was a mass breakout in one of SHIELD's secure prisons just hours ago." Director Fury was debriefing us, pacing around the room while a screen was pulled out from the table. Images of the breakout could be made out - explosions had destroyed part of the building, leaving a gaping hole for the prisoners to get out. "We don't know how many prisoners have escaped, but we do know that they are dangerous and well armed," he explained as a hushed silence fell upon the group.

So why invite me along this little adventure? True I was in training to become a SHIELD agent. But that didn't mean I was ready for a mission like this. These guys were bad news. They were on top of SHIELD's most wanted list. This was way beyond any of the training I received.

"So how do we approach this?" Agent Morris leaned forward, blonde hair falling over her face as she did so.

"We do this as a team," Fury replied. "Barton, I want you and Romanoff with Karson. This will be good experience for her. Morris, you'll be splitting up with Sitwell and Quartermain." He nodded to the two agents he'd named. Sitwell and Quartermain were good choices, they could easily keep up with the enemies that had escaped.

"Sir, are you sure it's wise to send an under trained agent in the field?" Morris did have a good point.

"As long as you stay with Widow and Hawkeye, you should be fine," he replied, more pointedly to me.

Well no shit Sherlock. There was no way I was about to jump into a fight with fully trained enemies in my way. Plus I wasn't completely useless. Now that I had somewhat understanding of the Tesseract's powers, I could sort of control the energy. That didn't mean I wasn't going to disobey orders.

With that said and done the team was debriefed in a matter of minutes. Morris's team had already left shortly after while we were waiting for the full detail. From what I was gathering these prisoners were no ordinary criminals. Which meant I was going to have to keep an eye out for anyone with powers.

Once we were ready I was quick to follow them, staying close to Widow's side while Hawkeye stayed on the roof. Having the best eyesight in the team meant that he could see better from a distance, whatever that meant.

"Nat, you got two enemies approaching on your right," Hawkeye warned over the earpiece.

Sure enough he was right. Two men were approaching us, both armed with guns and more than likely knives for close-ranged attacks. I watched in awe as Widow kept the first attacker at bay, easily knocking him out. The second attacker wasn't as easy to take on, and I summoned up the energy created by the Tesseract as he charged after me.

It was likely he thought I'd be the easier target, seeing as Widow was fully trained in combat. He was about to learn the hard way that I wasn't so easy to take down. The energy I felt earlier suddenly erupted into a violent blue light, tossing the man into a nearby wall.

"Who let you out?" Widow had the struggling attacker pinned to the wall, knife aimed at his throat.

"Like I'd tell you," he scoffed. His eyes widened in horror as Widow pressed the knife against his throat. I winced as blood seeped from the mark she left. "Alright, alright! His name was Dirk Garthwaite, said he had a score to settle with SHIELD," he explained in a hurried voice.

"The Wrecker?" I tilted my head to one side, curious now as to how the Wrecker would have been able to cause such a breakout. From the files I've read he wasn't all that bright. Maybe he wasn't working along in this case.

He let out a strangled cry as Widow knocked him out against the wall, leaving a nice dent in the process.

"Well that answers our question," she muttered crossly. "Hawkeye, any idea where the Wrecker could be?"

"Most likely freeing his buddies from prison," came Hawkeye's answer.

If that was the case than we needed to act quickly. And here I was hoping this would be quick and painless. Looks like this was going to be a long night. It's a good thing that it was Friday. But on the downside I had a crap load of schoolwork that needed to be finished.

Remind me again why I signed up for this?

* * *

**AN: Sorry it took so long to get this posted! I kind of may have had writer's block for a short while. But never fear, for I have an idea! :P Bonus points for those who got that quote. So this is the beginning of the sequel to Dementia. Up In Arms will have multiple parts to it, and I've thought of adding a few characters from the comics. Just a forewarning though to everyone: I haven't read the comics but I do as much research as I can on each character I include. So if anything seems out of character than please let me know.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

"**Hope when you take that jump, You don't fear the fall, Hope when the water rises, You build a wall Hope when the crowd screams out, They're screaming your name, Hope if everybody runs, You choose to stay Hope that you fall in love, And it hurts so bad, The only way you can know, Is give it all you have And I hope that you don't suffer, But take the pain, Hope when the moment comes, You'll say... I, I did it all, I, I did it all, I owned every second, That this world could give, I saw so many places, The things that I did, Yeah, with every broken bone, I swear I lived...**" I Lived, OneRepublic

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Most of the prisoners had been apprehended thanks to the help of Morris's team. But there was still the problem with the Wrecker, and I had no doubt that he had already freed his crew. So now with the rest of the prisoners locked up again, we were left with having to find the Wrecking Crew. I could see why Morris had left Widow and Hawkeye in charge of finding them. These guys were bad news, and likely already on a rampage after being freed from their cells.

From what I've gathered the Wrecking Crew consisted of four members total. Each of them had enhanced abilities that set them apart from other villains. But I've also heard that they're easy compared to some of the villains SHIELD has faced in the past. I was really hoping that these rumors were true.

"Why am I not surprised?" Natasha sounded annoyed as we both skidded to a halt, near a bank. Sure enough it was the first stop they made, already smashing a large hole in the wall. I glanced over to my left and noticed that the night guards had been knocked out.

If Clint was nearby he didn't give any indication that he was. It was more than likely that he was waiting for the right time to jump in. Any wrong move and the Wrecking Crew would likely take us by surprise.

So it was two against four. Didn't sound like bad odds if you asked me. Than again I had only joined SHIELD a few weeks ago, and my training had only officially begun two weeks ago. But that didn't mean I was going to let Natasha face the Wrecking Crew alone, even if she could probably handle them all at once.

"Well lookie what we have here, two little girls that got lost." Piledriver, the blond one with a white suit and overly large muscles, turned to face us, a smirk crossing his features.

"You boys know what we do to those who get lost?" Bulldozer grinned as he followed Piledriver.

We didn't look lost, did we? Bulldozer's eyes widened when he finally took notice of Natasha, standing only a few inches away from me. He didn't have a chance to react as she flipped back and grabbed his head with her feet, than she threw him to the floor, causing him to drop his wrench in the process.

Piledriver only just seemed to realize how dangerous she was. He raised a fist and was ready to charge when I summoned the Tesseract energy and fired a shot at him. And almost at once I regretted doing so. Part of the reason I was being trained was because the Tesseract drew it's energy from me, or at least that was what Bruce had told me. And I could already feel the energy draining from me as Piledriver was tossed aside like a sheet of paper.

Unfortunately the attack didn't even seem to leave a scratch on him. He just got up, dusted himself and charged after me again, this time aiming a fist above my chin. The pain that followed made me want to scream. His hands were bigger than anyone else I've ever seen, which would explain why he managed to leave a nasty bruise.

"Not so tough without your friend around, are you?" he sneered while cracking his knuckles. I ducked as he threw another fist, this time leaving a nasty dent in the wall. Piledriver only smirked as I continued dodging each of his moves. I was on the defensive, trying to block his attacks as he continued throwing punches. "Why don't ya stand up and fight?"

He was about to throw another punch when an arrow whizzed past me. Piledriver let out a cry of surprise as electricity surged through him. It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened. Clint was standing behind me, bow raised with another arrow ready to fire as Piledriver raised his hands defensively.

"Thought you could use an extra hand," he said as he helped me up. "Where's Widow?" I stared at him blankly for a few seconds before registering what he meant.

"In there." I nodded towards the vault where the Wrecker and Thunderball were likely duking it out with Natasha.

I really hoped that she was okay. Natasha could easily handle herself, but the Wrecker and Thunderball were not easy to defeat.

The Wrecker and Thunderball had Natasha cornered, Thunderball throwing his namesake in her direction. I used the chance I had to concentrate on the weapon, focusing so that it was aimed at Thunderball instead of Natasha.

"What took you so long?" Natasha demanded just when the weapon was thrown into Thudnerball's face. He let out a groan of pain while she used the distraction to escape from the corner.

"Got caught up doing a little cleanup at the prison," Clint explained before firing an arrow at the Wrecker. Having impervious skin meant that little gunfire could effect him. But Clint was using his explosive arrows. That, and the fact that Thunderball was still recovering from his own weapon left the Wrecker vulnerable. "And seriously, Wrecker? Don't you have anything better to do than rob a bank?"

The Wrecker just glared at Clint as he aimed another arrow. Seeing as he was badly outnumbered, I just stood back and let them finish the job. My work here was done as far as I was concerned. Until I had a few more weeks of proper training I wasn't going to risk getting into a huge fight.

What I didn't notice was that Bulldozer had recovered from being knocked out by Natasha. I whirled around just in time to feel a wrench being thrown in my direction. I didn't have a chance to respond as the weapon hit it's mark, square in the head. The last thing I heard before blacking out was the angry voices of the Wrecking Crew making their escape.

. . .

"_What happened here?"_

_"They weren't alone. Had another agent with 'em."_

_"So... Black Widow and Hawkeye have a new apprentice, do they?"_

_"New apprentice? This kid could barely walk!"_

_"But she is being trained by two of SHIELD's top assassins. I want you all to keep an eye on her."_

_"What if she suspects something?"_

_"Than we bring her in. I want to know what those powers are that she clearly has."_

_"That we can do._"

. . .

Waking up in a hospital bed is never a good thing. The first thought that came to mind was that I had suffered a serious injury. But than the Tesseract should have healed said injury if that were the case. That was when I felt the throbbing headache. My teeth ground together as I tried to keep calm, fighting off the drowsiness that was threatening to take over.

"She's in here." I flinched as I heard someone talking from outside the room. The voice didn't belong to anyone I recognized. And as the door slowly clicked open, I tried sitting up straighter, only to relax when I recognized the man walking inside.

Agent Phil Coulson, Fury's right-hand man. Last time I saw him I had saved him from getting stabbed by Loki. Every time I thought of that I felt the familiar pain burning in my stomach. Loki had stabbed me in the stomach. My fists clenched as Coulson approached me, raising an eyebrow in concern.

"Hi, it's been a while," he said in a voice that told me this was about to get serious. I noticed once again that he was wearing a fancy dress suit. Why couldn't the guy relax just once in his life? Was the suit a standard SHIELD uniform now for those in the higher rankings?

"What exactly happened?" I asked nervously.

"The Wrecking Crew escaped from prison, and Bulldozer managed to knock you out," he explained in a hurried voice. My eyes widened as I suddenly remembered that night. Bulldozer had attacked me while Clint and Natasha were distracted.

I bit the bottom of my lip as I suddenly got more worried than nervous. "Are they okay?" If anything had happened to them because of my stupid move, I'd never forgive myself.

"They're both fine," Coulson replied, voice still icily calm. "A few scratches here and there, but nothing serious. They were more concerned about you getting medical treatment right away."

Now I wish a hole would open up beneath the bed and swallow me. Their mission was a failure because of me. Like I said before, I don't know why Fury included me in the first place. I wasn't ready for the mission.

"Don't blame this on yourself, Emma," he suddenly told me as if he had read my thoughts. I looked at him warily. "Something like this was bound to happen. Fury knew the risks and so did Romanoff and Barton." Despite his reassuring I couldn't help but disagree.

"So am I allowed to leave?" He sat up after leaning against the bedside. Most likely it was Fury who had ordered him to talk since I trusted Coulson. Not to the extent of sharing my life's story with him, but close enough.

Wow, do I really trust him that much? I mean, sure from the movies he seemed like a really chilled dude and all of that. But now that we met in person I could see that he was taking his job very seriously. He was a well-trained agent after all. This wasn't a job to be taken lightly.

"Not until the doctors give you the okay," he replied. "Just stay here and you should be out within a few days."

Really? A few days? What was I supposed to say when I got back to school? I could already imagine a thousand excuses running across my mind. No one would believe me of course, because they already thought I was slightly crazy. And quite possibly I might be crazy.

Holding back a sigh of frustration as he left the room, I suddenly wondered what my life would be like right now had I not woken up in this world. I'd probably be hanging out at the bookstore waiting for my shift to start. Or I'd be reading the numerous books I had in my apartment until I dropped down from exhaustion.

Part of me missed that old life. There were times I would break down and desperately pray that my life would go back to normal. Of course my prayers were left unanswered at the time. Than I'd look back at it and realize that I had no regrets signing up for this.

I chose to life this sort of life, and I was going to live it to the fullest. They always say you only live once. And to that I couldn't help but agree that those words were so true.

* * *

**AN: The first few chapters may be a little shorter than my average writing, and I apologize for that. They'll get longer as I write on, so keep an eye out! And thanks to Welcome To The New and Whitelion69 for reviewing! You guys are awesome :D**


	3. Chapter 3

"**Love is on a side of the highway, With his thumb in the sky, Worry's flying in the fast lane, In a suit and tie The sun is crashing in the ocean, And you just can't help yourself but wonder how we all forget It's a fine fine life, It's a fine fine life, Every day I find, It's a fine fine life...**" Fine Fine Life, For King and Country

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Thankfully Coulson was right when he said that I would be out in two days. I only missed a day of school and already had a crap load of work to finish up. Since it was my senior year I had more schoolwork to finish than usual, along with my senior project. I still wasn't sure what I would use for that, and right now that was the least of my worries.

Once I was back in the classroom I was busy reading the files Natasha had given me before I left the medical bay. I ignored the students giving me strange looks as the teacher went on about solving proper equations in math. My least favorite subject and I was already distracted with what I'd be doing tonight. Wonderful.

Though truth be told I'd rather be reading files than do math work. I hated anything that had to do with numbers. My mind just shut down automatically when it came to math. Basic math I could do just fine, but when it came to difficult equations like the one the teacher was going over, I just ignored him.

My mind was already working a mile a minute as I studied the images in the file. It was from the records SHIELD managed to grab a hold of on the Wrecking Crew. So far I've come to the conclusion that the Wrecker (the person responsible for breaking out his team), was not working alone. And it seemed that from what I was reading I could be right.

The Wrecker was not an intelligent man. He would have needed someone who could bypass SHIELD's security system in order to break everyone out. So that left me wondering who had the guts to pull off such a stunt. Someone on SHIELD's most wanted list might give me a clue.

"Miss Karson, if you're finished reading than perhaps you'd like to share with us what you find so interesting." I looked up, half embarrassed and angry that the entire class was staring at me, stifling their laughter.

"I... It's nothing," I muttered after closing the folder on my desk. Miss Crinsley was already approaching me, a frown on her face as she looked down at me. "Just looking over some math equations," I added as she raised an eyebrow skeptically.

God I'm a terrible liar. Luckily that was enough for her as she walked back over to the Whiteboard. If she had been Natasha she would've seen right through me, sent me to detention or called the cops. And that wouldn't go over well on my school record.

Class was over in another twenty minutes. As I packed my bag to head over for history, one of the students passed by and shoved past me, causing me to drop the files I had been holding earlier. The student looked at the file in disbelief as I snatched it before he could read anything.

"What the hell was that?" he asked before I could leave.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to hold back the frustration that was slowly building. This was what Fury had warned me about when I said I would continue school until I graduated. Students would get suspicious and start asking questions. But I had promised to get through with school, more to myself than anyone else. Once I was finished with school I'd continue my SHIELD training. Maybe after that I'd go off to college.

"Look, it's nothing serious," I replied through gritted teeth. "It's just part of my senior project that I'm trying to finish." At least that was a valid excuse. I really hope I wasn't one of those people who got the project finished at the last minute.

To my relief he didn't question me further as the bell rang. He was one of those kids I saw on a regular basis because we shared the same classes together. But we rarely spoke to one another since he was already part of his own group of friends. And I'd rather keep it that way.

As the day dragged on I thought back to who might be working with the Wrecking Crew. My mind was already trying to recall SHIELD's most wanted list. I only looked at it once or twice when Fury wasn't looking. And at the time I did I was only doing so because I was bored.

Maybe tonight during training I could ask to take a look and see who was behind this recent attack. Even if I couldn't take part in the fight I could at least find out who was responsible. Sooner or later I would have to fight back. That was the whole point in joining SHIELD after all.

. . .

"_What have you got?"_

_"The kid's new, barely even started training."_

_"So, why would SHIELD let some seventeen year old join their rankings?"_

_"Dunno, must be somethin' special though. Kid fired some kind of weapon from her hand and knocked out Bulldozer for a few minutes."_

_"Really? Now we're getting somewhere. Someone who was gifted with such powers deserves to meet us, don't you think?"_

_"When should we bring her in?"_

_"Soon. We need more research done on her. Send someone in to investigate the school she is at."_

_"Already taken care of."_

_"Good, now get out of my sight._"

. . .

I blocked another well aimed punch near my ribs. Another was thrown closer to my ear. Pain shot through me as I struggled to keep up with Natasha. Her attacks were ruthless, swift and precise. She knew exactly where to hit me even as I started blocking her fists. When I did that she just used her legs to swipe me off my feet.

"You need to start acting on the offensive," she told me as I tried blocking another attack, this time she struck me in the chest. After only just recovering from Bulldozer's attacks my movements were painfully slow. And Natasha was beginning to notice this. She took my slow movement to her advantage and attacked with such speed that I didn't have time to blink. "Are you even trying to fight back?" She had me pinned to the floor, arms held down as I barely struggled to free myself.

"Nope." Without warning I pushed forward with my legs once her posture relaxed. I used enough momentum to throw her off, than put all my strength in my hands to stand up again. "Are you?" Taunting Natasha was never a wise idea, if you didn't want to end up dead.

But this was part of our training session. Every night Natasha or Clint would train me. Either in blocking close-ranged attacks or firing arrows and guns. If anyone from school saw me now they'd be freaking out.

This time I started moving from side to side to evade her punches and kicks. Natasha made this look easy when we first met. I was already getting exhausted and she was barely breaking a sweat. Than again she's had years of practice, while I was only just starting out.

"Keep it up kid, you're getting better." Before I had a chance to respond she caught my fist as I struggled to throw in a punch. I tried not to cry out in shock as she twisted me by the wrist. This time she made sure I couldn't move as she had me pinned to the wall. "And I believe we're done here," she announced after letting me go.

"I did better this time," I admitted once I knew my wrist wasn't broken. It wouldn't surprise me if she had broken my wrist. And it certainly wouldn't be the first time this has happened.

Training was tough on any new agents. From Natasha and Clint's standards, it was learn fast or die quickly. They made sure that I could endure the pain before going out into the field. When Bulldozer had attacked me it showed that I wasn't ready for field missions just yet.

"You did," she agreed after tossing me a towel to clean up the training room. "But you're still holding back. From what I've seen you're capable of so much more."

I bit the bottom of my lip as I thought that over. I knew she was right - I had been holding back. I'm not sure why I was so afraid to give it my all. Maybe because I had the Tesseract energy and was still learning how to control that?

For now we walked on in silence to the other part of the building, which consisted of a gym with training equipment and another room that had a pool used for practicing laps. So far I've only used that gym once or twice. Natasha and Clint had separate training quarters. While Natasha's room was standard with steal walls and patted safety mats covering the floor, Clint's had numerous targets spread throughout the room for which to practice his archery skills. I wondered how they managed to convince Fury into getting these rooms.

A few agents in training we passed by looked mildly surprised to see Natasha leading me to the larger portion of the building. Normally it was Clint or someone else who escorted me to this area. My guess was that Natasha seldom used this room, because she didn't need to. Which made me wonder why I was being led here in the first place.

"Emma, from what we've gathered on your PE records you haven't had any gymnastic training since you were eight," Natasha explained as we stood in the center of the room. I noticed for the first time that the room was bigger than I first remembered. It was an obstacle course with various ropes, snares and even monkey bars that were currently left unused.

Yeah... the gymnastics thing. My mother thought it would be a good idea to sign me up for it. After two years I quit. I couldn't handle the pressure, even though according to the teacher I was 'gifted'. It was just one of the many brilliant things my mother had tried doing for me. More like forced me into signing up for.

"So you want me to show you what I know," I suggested after eying the equipment warily. I never thought much of these skills back when the Chitauri were waging war on New York. At the time I never thought I would need to learn them.

_Yet you claim you have no skills_. Again with that nagging voice in the back of my head. Yes I did say that at one point. But I had to stop debating with myself. If I showed doubt now than I might never get this opportunity again.

Taking a deep breath I went through the course for the next couple of hours, struggling to recall the moves I'd been taught years ago. The floor had a safety padding on it, much to my relief. I think I've fallen more times tonight than I have my entire life. But as I reached for the next rope I realized that this was getting easier. Maneuvering around the obstacle course was getting easier as well with each fall. Despite how many times I had fallen I still got back up, determined to prove myself. At what felt like my hundredth attempt at finishing the course, I wasn't even sure if Natasha was still watching.

By the time I was finished I was left with several bruises and marks on my arms and legs. To my surprise Natasha had stayed, and another agent was quietly talking, looking rather impressed as he eyed me with curiosity.

"Is she your new student?" he asked as I approached them. Already I found myself not trusting him. The way he called me a student made me think I was back in school. Which this technically was like a school. Only much harsher and with not so friendly teachers (Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit).

"Agent Bachor, this is Emma Karson," Natasha explained, keeping on a poker face. "She recently joined SHIELD two months ago." I found myself eying this agent Bachor suspiciously.

"You were the one who fought alongside the Avengers, I presume?" Another question that made me feel even more uncomfortable. There was definitely something about this guy I didn't trust.

His slicked back dark brown hair and nice suit made him seem more like an office worker than a SHIELD agent. Even Coulson didn't look this suspicious, and he was always wearing a suit. I wasn't one to judge someone by their appearance, but this was a little too obvious for my liking.

"Yes," I replied warily once an awkward silence followed.

"I apologize for barging in like this," he said with a heavy sigh. My nose wrinkled in disgust when I caught a whiff of his breath. It wreaked of cigarette smoke. "I was just curious as to why SHIELD would recruit someone so young."

I was relieved the moment he left the room. It would take weeks to get that stench out of my clothes.

"I don't trust him," I muttered under my breath once he was out of earshot.

"So I've noticed. What about him don't you trust?" I didn't miss the fact that she hadn't trusted him either. The quirk of an eyebrow told me she knew all too well not to trust everyone she met.

"Would it be right to say everything?" When she nodded I let out a sigh of relief. So that nagging suspicion wasn't just me. "During school today I was wondering if Wrecker wasn't working alone," I added in a lower voice so that only she could hear. "He doesn't seem like the type to get past SHIELD's security system too easily."

"We thought of that as well," Natasha replied, looking at the walls thoughtfully. "It would make sense if someone else hacked into the system. He could take out the guards while this certain someone takes down the rest of the prison's security monitors."

As we walked out of the room (by now more SHIELD agents in training had walked in to practice their moves), I thought over the numerous possibilities. If what she said was true than it could be anyone.

I looked down at my phone to check the time. Normally training was done close to midnight since I had school the following morning. But as I looked at the time I realized it was well past two in the morning. Now I was beginning to wonder if I should've taken Fury's offer to pull me out of school. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

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**AN: And surprise surprise, long chapter :) And yes, we do learn more about what Emma was up to in her past. Not much, but it's something. A big thanks to Whitelion69 for reviewing. They're always fun to read ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

"**We were alone on the road driving faster, So far from home we were chasing disaster, Hard on the gas 'till the car caught on fire, We had to laugh as the smoked billowed higher, I wanna feel alive forever after, And you say, you say you wanna feel alive forever after, And I, and I, and I say Follow the light through the dreams and disasters, Follow the light to the edge and the after, We won't turn around, we will not slow down, Follow the light through the dreams and disasters...**" Dreams and Disasters, Owl City

* * *

**Chapter Four**

As I suspected I was exhausted by the time school started. I kept to myself for the most part and let the day drag on. The routine was getting tiresome. After nearly failing a math exam I knew I would need to beg the teacher for extra credit of some kind. I was desperate to prove myself by getting the best grades, even if it meant exhausting myself even further with studying.

The few students that I did sit with at lunch made points to avoid me. I was happy with that. The lunch was basically slop as far as I was concerned. We were supposed to have mashed potatoes and gravy on the side, but that is not what this looked like. A group of boys sat not far away, snickering to one another as they shared jokes or pulled of pranks on one another.

"That kid's going crazy if you ask me." I froze when I recognized the kid from the other day speaking up from the laughter. "Nearly tore my head off yesterday just 'cause I looked at her senior project. Or whatever that pile of junk was." His name was David Zalts. And he chose now of all times to bring up our little conversation from yesterday.

"I hear she's a bit nuts in the head. Casey told me that she thought there was some movie called the Avengers coming out last summer," another boy sneered. I unconsciously picked at the mashed potatoes, suddenly too angry to eat.

These rumors were spreading faster than I could react. Soon enough everyone in the lunchroom started whispering to one another. I'm not even sure what had started these rumors. But now I could sense all eyes turning towards me. Yeah, I could see where this was going.

"Would miss Emma Karson please report to the principal's office." I let out a sigh of relief when a voice called over the intercom. Most students would dread the day they had to report to the principal's office. But today I was relishing in it. "I repeat, Emma Karson please report to the principle's office."

I didn't bother meeting the gazes of the students around me as I got up and put away my lunch tray. The food here was almost as bad as the stuff served in the cafeteria at SHIELD's HQ. Only the food served at SHIELD was usually packed with vitamins and nutrients.

Once I was out of the cafeteria the tension I felt earlier suddenly slipped away. If this was God's answers to my recent problems than I'd take it. At this rate if the students kept up their rumors I might as well give up on my dream of graduating. Part of the reason reason I'd moved away from Pennsylvania was to escape from all of that taunting.

When I reached the principal's office that familiar sense of unease suddenly returned. Call it my version of the 'Spidy-sense', but it was definitely giving me the chills. Carefully I turned to the knob on the door, summoning up the Tesseract energy just in case.

_Don't overreact_. That voice was calling to me again. _This is just what they want_. _Play it cool_,_ act like you know nothing_. But I already knew that this could go terribly wrong. Now would be an awesome time to call for some backup. _Use this as a chance to prove yourself_. Once the door opened up I braced myself for the worse to come.

Standing in the middle of the office was someone that made my blood run cold. A tall, muscular man with what looked like golden blond shortly cut hair. His eyes were narrowed as he looked down at me, arms folded with a toothy grin. Before he could say anything I shot an energy blast at him in the face. The man simply brushed it off as if it was nothing, than he rushed forward and grabbed me by the arm, twisting it behind my back.

"Where's Principal Eckberg?" I tried not to show the pain as he had me thrown against the wall with a force that shook the room. Knowing Bulldozer he had likely done something terrible to the principle.

"Taking a little vacation," he sneered while putting more pressure into his grip. "And you're about to take one to, little lady." Did he seriously just call me a lady? I could imagine Tony snorting in amusement and rolling his eyes at the comment. "Let's see how tough you are without your little SHIELD cronies," he growled before twisting me around so that I was facing him.

"What do you want with me?" I demanded, voice cold. It was difficult trying to hide my anger and frustration. The first thing Natasha had taught me was to not let my emotions show. I needed to follow her advice, even if I was terrified on the inside.

"You got a little something our boss is interested in," he replied. "And you're gonna show us what that something is."

. . .

It was well past noon before we heard anything from Director Fury. Fury's plan had worked well, despite the consequences of it. The girl was used as a pawn in a much bigger scheme. From the intel she gathered the Wrecker wasn't working alone. And it turned out that she was right. If all went according to plan than this would be over by tonight.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Agent Hill stood nearby, watching the monitors warily. Even she had agreed with the plan, albeit she had been reluctant to do so. Now I could see why as she studied the video captured today from the principle's office.

"We planted a tracking device on her before she even joined SHIELD," I told her without missing a heartbeat. It was standard to keep track of every new recruit. Once they got past their first year than the tracking device was removed, but we still kept a close eye on them nonetheless.

"I know this was all a set up, but was risking her life worth it?" Hill's voice dropped to barely a whisper, but I heard it loud and clear.

This kid... she had given up everything to join SHIELD. Of course from what we had discovered she didn't have much of a life prior to SHIELD. There were no birth records with the name Emma McKain Karson anywhere. Either she had given us a false identity or she really was from another world. She had known that the Tesseract would be stolen from Loki. And she had even risked her life to safe some kid off the street during the invasion.

"We'll find out tonight," Fury's voice announced over the intercom. "Agent Barton, you're to rendezvous with Romanoff outside the school. Suit up and make it quick."

Agent Hill didn't bother responding as I headed out. She knew the risks of joining SHIELD as much as any agent around me. And it was time this kid learned that lesson.

. . .

"Little brat, still trying to play the hero are we?" My teeth ground together as I heard the voices mocking around me.

I'm not sure who was speaking, and at this point I was in too much pain to care. All I knew was that I was surrounded by a group of students outside the school yard. None of the teachers had bothered to stop by and see what was going on. They never did. They always thought that everyone was the perfect student, and punishment should be taken lightly.

"Drop that book of lies you're holding on to and we might just let you go," one of the boys sneered.

His comment only made me hold on tighter to the Bible clutched in my hands. It was the only thing that kept me going. I wasn't going to let these kids pressure me into giving up. So instead of doing as I was told I simply held up my Bible, careful not to let it fall out of my trembling arms.

The kids gathered around the small group watched on with interest, waiting to see what I would do next. When I was younger I could easily manipulate a teacher into running over to break up the fights. But here in middle school we were left to fend for ourselves. It was either join a group or become an outsider, and the system has always been like this.

"Guess we'll have to do this the hard way." Another boy, this one taller than the other, suddenly raised his arm. My eyes widened when I realized that hidden under his sleeve was a knife. The other students around him took a few steps back, knowing full well that he could easily turn on them.

I barely had time to register the pain that would follow. The kid's aim was fast and precise. He wasted no time in opening a wound that should never have happened in the first place. Underneath that wound he opened another one, making sure that I would always remember this day.

The scream that followed made me blink in surprise. My vision clouded up again, this time taking longer than I had hoped to clear. All I could think of was their mocking laughter as I recoiled from the pain, still holding on to the Bible the minister from my church had given me. The students at the time were around the age of thirteen or fourteen. They had known the teachers wouldn't do a thing to stop them. So they chose the end of the day to attack out of pure spite.

When my vision finally cleared I found myself in a room. A ceiling was above me, and steel walls seemed to close in on me. That was when I noticed the straps around my wrists. I had a feeling that if I started struggling now, the straps would only make things worse.

"I do hope my friends treated you well upon your arrival." I flinch when I heard a familiar voice. Turning my head (I couldn't exactly move my body with the straps holding me down), I spotted agent Bachor grinning back at me and his arms folded behind his back. "Those brutes can be difficult to handle, though they make fine bodyguards when I need them."

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded while struggling in vein to free myself. As I predicted the straps suddenly held down tighter. That movement was enough to trigger the scars along my arm to burn. My eyes began to water from the intensity of the pain. It felt like I was being attacked all over again.

"My real name is Dmitri Smerdyakov. I have been watching you for some time now. For someone so young you show great promise, yet those SHIELD agents have been holding you back," he explained. The way he spoke made it sound like he had the slightest Russian accent. Only it sounded like he'd been speaking English fluently for years. "I'm here to offer you something more than what SHIELD can offer you," he concluded as I stared at him in disbelief.

Yeah, I'm sure he had something great in mind for when I joined him. I knew there was something about agent Bachor I didn't trust. I was taught to never trust anyone the moment I signed up for SHIELD. And this man was no different.

"So you want me to join your little team? Who exactly is working for you?" It felt like my voice was cracking up from lack of use. I wonder just how long I was knocked out. What had this Dmitri character been doing to me while I was knocked out.

"The Wrecking Crew obviously," he replied. "And a few other agents working from within. I am quite certain that you can easily... _adapt_ to this lifestyle." His eyes narrowed at the word 'adapt'.

I didn't bother responding to him this time. There was no way in hell I'd ever join this so called team he was building. So far he's caused nothing but trouble for me. Not only was he bringing back nightmares I'd rather keep hidden, but he was the reason I was stuck here. Whether or not SHIELD would come to my rescue (that wasn't likely), I was on my own.

Dmitri let out a dramatic sigh and bowed his head, as if this conversation between us was too much. "And here I was hoping we wouldn't have to do this the hard way," he groaned. I narrowed my eyes and remained icily silent. "Very well. Those _SHIELD_ agents you call your teachers will not be here to save you, not this time."

That much I had gathered. If they were to pull off a rescue than they would have done so already. While I wanted to believe that SHIELD was watching over me, part of me knew they wouldn't be. Not with so much at stake. All I could do was pray that God would let this end quickly.

* * *

**AN: So, I thought I would give a huge shout-out to Welcome To The New for reviewing every chapter. You're a good friend and a good author, and thank you for reviewing this story :) And please don't hesitate to let me know what you think of this story so far. Whether or not it's moving too quickly or I should slow down the pace, any CC would be nice!**


	5. Chapter 5

**"Sin is like a jail cell, except it's nice and comfy and there doesn't seem to be any need to leave. The door is wide open, until one day, it slams shut..." Mrs. Banks, God's Not Dead**

**(This is quite possibly one of my favorite quotes from that movie. So very true!)**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"SHIELD is just using you, you know," Dmitri told me as we spent another good hour in the same room. By now exhaustion had gotten the better of me, and I was forced to stare at the ceiling while he spoke. For the next few days it went on like this. He would tell me how SHIELD was just using me as a pawn. How I was useless to them without the 'powers' I had discovered by accident. "They used you to discover my hideout, which was destroyed in a matter of hours. Now they will never find you." His voice came out in a sneer of contempt.

When he was finished speaking he would begin testing my limits. Probing me by taking blood samples or simply asking more questions. The harder I struggled against the straps the tighter they got on my wrists. So all I could do was lay there on the table and wait for it to be over.

If he wasn't in the room one of his followers would take his place. By now I wasn't even sure how long I'd been strapped to the table. These people were cruel and took advantage of the situation. With no one to stop them I was left bleeding and praying for God to end it already. The Tesseract could easily heal any open wounds they'd created. But internal injuries would leave scars on me in the future if I ever got out of this.

"The kid's not breaking." Instinctively I flinched as the metal door creaked open. The room was soundproof from the outside. Which meant even if I was screaming no one would ever hear me. "What should we do boss?" I recognized the voice. It was the man that had first stepped in after Dmitri was finished taking samples of my blood. Those first few minutes of our encounter left me wishing that my life would go back to normal.

What was I thinking by joining SHIELD? Because of my rash decision I was stuck in a situation like this. My life may have been boring had I not joined SHIELD but I least I'd be safe.

_This is what you wanted_. That stupid voice again! Sometimes I wished there was a way to shut it up. _You will have to suffer the consequences of this life_. _Life is a beautiful lie_. _And the sooner you learn that, the better off you are_.

"Heh, looks like I get to spend the rest of the day with you," the man chucked as he slammed the door shut. "Time to see just how strong you really are brat."

. . .

Two weeks. Two damned weeks we'd been searching. Those two weeks were like hell. Next to no sleep due to constantly searching any abandoned warehouses or buildings they might be holding the kid. The last base had some kind of self destruct response the moment we got inside. It was only thanks to Nat's quick thinking that we got out alive. Now Fury had sent out more teams to find the kid. Things were getting desperate.

Even if he had been using the kid to find out who was behind Wrecker's breakout in the prison, this was ridiculous. One kid shouldn't be that hard to find, right? Considering she was the one who ended up on the Hellicarrier somehow, it shouldn't that hard to find her.

"We've found a lead!" Natasha was standing beside me as we scoured the outside of an abandoned building. It wasn't likely that the Wrecking Crew would hide in such an obvious place. Though I had been surprised before, even if that did happen rarely.

"Where's your location, Sitwell?" Natasha asked over the earpiece.

"Would you believe me if I said the Tamaulipan Desert?" Sitwell sounded nervous, but sure of himself as he spoke. "From what we can tell it's an underground base in the eastern part of Texas, I'm sending you the coordinates now," he explained.

Really, in the middle of the desert? Why couldn't secret bases be somewhere more tropical, like in the Bahamas? Than another thought occurred to me. If the kid was captured for this long, than who knows what they've done to her. I knew all too well what it was like to be put in her place. Scared and not knowing what would happen next. But this was what she had signed up for.

"We're taking the quinjet right now," I announced while fumbling with my bow. As we got inside I thought back to how this all started. Fury was the one who wanted to see if she would drawl out the enemy. And she had. What bothered me more than anything was that he seemed to show no reaction to her capture.

"Something's bothering you," Natasha said as we took off. She sat beside me in the cockpit - there was enough room for the two of us, even though it wasn't comfortable. "It's about Emma, isn't it?"

Naturally I push her away. The kid was the least of my worries. She could probably take care of herself if she was given the chance. But something was nagging at the back of my mind. And Natasha always seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. We knew each other two well to know what the other was thinking. Though Natasha was better at hiding her emotions.

"I think I want to know why you talked her into joining SHIELD," I muttered, trying to mask the wariness that crept in my voice. There were always motives to everything, especially when it came to SHIELD. So of course I would need to know the full story behind Natasha convincing some random teenager into joining SHIELD.

"Fury wanted to keep an eye on her," Natasha explained after looking through the window thoughtfully. "She showed some potential, but she's in desperate need of proper training. From the files we've managed to find she took gymnastics for two years and excelled in it. Than suddenly she quit."

I eyed Natasha warily. "I thought there were no records on her."

The slightest twitch of her lips told me everything. Fury had done more than just ask the girl to join SHIELD. I wonder what it took to get such information out of her. It couldn't be easy.

It didn't take long for the quinjet to reach it's location. Desert hills stretched as far as the human eye could see. Any well trained eye could see vast mountains peeking in the distance. Shrub forests grew behind sand dunes protecting them from the harsh winds. A small portion of the desert stretched over Texas, than crossed into Mexico. Many people had tried crossing the border to find a better life in the United States. But the desert was a harsh environment, and if you didn't know how to survive than you were basically screwed.

We were parked further away from the coordinates Sitwell had sent us. The agent in question was standing with a group of two other SHIELD agents, consisting of agent Carter and agent Laedger. Both were well trained and ready for the task that lay ahead.

"I'm surprised Fury didn't call in the Avengers," Carter said as we all gathered around the sand dune. Sitwell had explained that the underground base was nearby, and recently they had been watching numerous vehicles driving in and out of an opening that was highly secured.

"He doesn't want to risk whoever is in charge discovering us," Natasha explained while making sure her guns were fully loaded. The guns were mostly for show. Her stingers were what had made her infamous among our enemies. "We need to handle this quickly and without getting anyone killed."

Agent Carter fell quiet at that explanation. We crouched there behind the sand dune for what felt like hours. Maybe the enemy had already figured us out. Or they were biding their time, waiting until we were too exhausted to fight back. Either way this waiting was getting on my nerves. Sitwell and Laedger were busy discussing the battle plan while Carter kept her eye on the base.

"There!" Carter's whisper made us all follow her searching gaze. Sure enough a truck disguised as a military truck was driving towards the sand dune we were hiding behind. But it stopped near what looked like two small boulders placed a few feet apart.

The truck never got a chance to move forward. I fired an arrow at the tire before firing another at the security systems. Wasting no time in breaking through after knocking out the driver and a few other agents, we made our way into the base.

"Laedger, you stay here and guard the entrance," Sitwell ordered. "Carter, you're with me. We'll take separate paths and find out where they're keeping the kid." None of us argued with the plan, though I could already see the flaws in it. If either one of us got captured these enemies would use that to their advantage.

As more guards started crawling into the long corridors I fired as many arrows as Natasha threw punches, knocking them out within seconds. We didn't need to be told how to get things done. As the top agents of SHIELD it was our job to keep an eye out on the enemies and our fellow teammates, on top of looking for SHIELD's new recruit.

One of the guards left over from the last round suddenly stood up and slammed a fist on the wall. Before he could make another move Natasha grabbed him by the head with her hands and tossed him to the floor.

"That was an alarm he just pushed," Natasha muttered as she released her grip. And as she said that an annoying buzzing noise echoed throughout the halls. "We need to move quickly." Wonderful, because this wasn't difficult enough already.

. . .

I remembered what Loki had said to me all those months ago before I signed up for SHIELD. He had asked whether or not I still believe in God after everything that had happened. I had told him that despite what he thought, there was only one true God. The response I got from him was less than happy. According to Norse legends the Asgardians were treated like Gods. I wonder if that was why Loki had finally lost it when he tried invading Earth.

Now that didn't mean I had stopped believing. All the pain I was going through right now was only temporary. I wasn't going to let that man break me. No matter what he did to me, I was not going to show him that I was afraid. If I did that than the battle would already be lost.

_You need to be strong_, _and don't let fear rule your life_. I'm not even sure who told me that. I might have gotten out of a movie, but it was a phrase I loved living by. Especially during times like these. _I am not afraid_.

Suddenly an alarm sounded from outside the room. The man standing inside flinched at the sound. I used the distraction as a chance to wriggle my wrists a bit more. At this point the straps were already too tight and had left what I assumed would be nasty dents around them. It wouldn't matter if they scarred. I've got enough to not care at this point.

At once I could feel the energy from the Tesseract returning. Despite the condition I was in, the energy was a welcomed feeling. If I could have some blasted weapon to get rid of the enemy, anything was better than what I had now. As I struggled a bit more with the straps the blue aura around my hands appeared. The man tensed up when he finally noticed this as well.

"You better not try anything-" He didn't get the chance to finish. I fired the energy at him in the face as he leaned over me, face twisted in a sneer as he fell to the ground.

In a matter of seconds the straps released their grip on my wrists. Carefully I rubbed my hands around them. An intense pain followed, and I struggled not to flinch at the feeling. The throbbing in the back of my head suddenly returned the moment I sat up.

How long had I been imprisoned here? I lost track after the last couple of weeks. What did catch my attention though was how exhausted and hungry I was. I was only given small portions of food when they bothered checking on my health. It seemed that keeping me alive didn't matter to Dmitri once he got a sample of my blood. Speaking of said enemy, I think it was time to pay him a little visit.

I wasn't going to let him get away with what he did. More importantly I wasn't about to let him use my blood to enhance his army, if he even had one. What he told me could have just been a web of lies to gain my trust. After what he did to me there was no way in hell I would ever trust that bastard again.

* * *

**AN: Forgot to add, hopefully I'm not rushing through this. This story will likely be broken down into parts. Each of them will lead into either the movies or even AOS if I feel like it ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

"**It's the hardest thing to give away, And the last thing on your mind today, It always goes to those that don't deserve It's the opposite of how you feel, When the pain they caused is just too real, It takes everything you have just to say the word… Forgiveness...**" Forgiveness, Matthew West

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Not for the first time I was grateful the Tesseract had healed any recent wounds Dmitri's followers had given me. The hallways seemed endless. And everyone was distracted by the alarms reverberating off the walls. The noise made my ears ring as I ran forward. I didn't even know what I was looking for. All I knew was that I needed to find Dmitri before he escaped.

I stopped short when I finally past what looked like a door. With all these 'soldiers' Dmitri had, you would think the guy would have more rooms to keep them in. There was hardly a window to look through, but I could already tell this was the room I needed. The last time I did this I ended up getting captured. Hopefully this time my rash thinking wouldn't get me killed.

This time the room was empty, aside from desks and large monitors leaning against the wall. The door creaked open louder as I stepped inside. Chairs were tossed aside, papers scattered here and there. Whoever was in here had left in a hurry. I'm guessing they had left long before the alarm sounded off. The papers didn't look all that important as I picked them up, trying to piece together where Dmitri would have fled.

The sound of footsteps made me whirl around, hands raised in self defense. What stood before me made my eyes widen in disbelief. One man and one woman who looked like they'd fought through a hundred enemies had their guns raised at me. Neither of them said a word. They didn't need to, I recognized agent Sitwell in a heartbeat.

"Barton, Romanoff, we found the kid," the woman announced over the earpiece. Her dirt blond hair fell over her eyes as she lowered her weapon. As Sitwell lowered his weapon I dropped my hands to my side, careful not to show any emotions around them. "My God kid, looks like you've been through hell," she added after looking me over.

"You don't look much better," I retorted while struggling not to glare. I should be grateful SHIELD had even sent a rescue party. I wonder how Fury managed to convince the council into pulling off such a stunt.

"Most of the enemies were taken down thanks to Romanoff and Barton," Sitwell explained as he helped me up (long story short, I almost fell over after realizing how exhausted I was). "They should be here any minute now."

So were we supposed to wait here until they arrived? I knew that wasn't a wise choice. Something made my blood run cold, and it wasn't the alarm that did it. This place was rigged to blow up once all the soldiers were down. And we needed to get out of here before that happened.

I could see Loki now, sitting in a cell and laughing his ass off at our predicament. Maybe he was right when he said I was now hero. But I sure as hell wasn't about to let Dmitri get away with what he did. While the other agent (I later learned that her name was agent Carter), grabbed as many of the papers as she could, Sitwell and I waited at the entrance of the door.

As they had said Clint and Natasha reached our side of the hallway in a matter of minutes. The alarm continued blaring, this time louder than ever. By now the ringing in my ears turned into a roar. It took me a few minutes to realize that Clint had offered to carry me, and I didn't bother refusing the offer. At this point I was too exhausted to bother caring.

. . .

Emma fell limp in Clint's arms as we left the premises. Moments later and the area around us shook with such a force that we were almost knocked off our feet. I turned around in time to see a cloud of smoke and flames surrounding the night sky.

The kind of job we had made this mission look like a cakewalk. But the girl would likely suffer from trauma for the next few months. Fury was not going to be happy when he found out about this. He was already going through enough problems with the council and Alexander Pierce.

As we headed for the quinjet I thought of how long it would take for her to recover. Most of the wounds they inflicted on her had already healed. But who knew how many internal wounds they had caused? All I can do is hope that it's a quick recovery. Things were not going to get any easier for her.

. . .

The first few hours were like hell for me. When I finally woke up I found myself in yet another room, but this time it looked more like a hospital room. The walls were bleached white as I got a good look at my surroundings. Monitors were located to my right, checking on my heartbeat to make sure I was alive.

For a moment I couldn't remember how I ended up in this room. One minute I was in the school trying to escape the rumors spreading around like wildfire. The next I found myself in another room, one much colder and darker than this. My eyes widened when I realized what had happened.

All at once that rage I felt hours ago. Or was it days? I'm not even sure how much time has passed since I was knocked out. Just thinking about it made my fingers curl into a fist. If I had been a little faster and a bit more careful than none of this would have happened.

"Good, you're awake." I flinched as a nurse approached me. She was holding onto a clipboard, jotting down quick notes as she eyed me warily. "According to Dr. Banner you suffered from minor injuries. Most of your injuries healed the moment they occurred."

Only minor injuries? And why wasn't Bruce here? I supposed he could be off on a mission of his own. Or avoiding Fury at all costs if he could. I knew those two didn't get along very well, and understandably so.

As I started to sit up straight pain shot through my leg. It took everything I had not to scream in surprise at the sudden burning sensation. It felt like someone was dragging their knife down my leg slowly and steadily. The nurse dropped the clipboard she was holding and rushed forward to see where the pain was exactly.

"I'm fine," I hissed through gritted teeth. The nurse raised an eyebrow at me skeptically. I knew she didn't believe me, and as she checked for any internal injuries, I noticed her eyes widened in alarm. "Where's everyone else?" I thought back to what had happened to the team that was sent to rescue me.

I never did get an answer to that question. The nurse had already called in for assistance as more doctors and nurses worked to find out what was wrong. All of them kept shooting glances at me, and I almost wished that a hole would open up and swallow me. Whatever they were discussing couldn't be any good for me. What bothered me more than anything was how quiet they were. None of them seemed to notice how nervous I was now.

"Miss Karson, everything is going to be fine," the nurse from earlier murmured in a reassuring tone. Her weak smile just made me want to hurl something at her. "According to our test results you have a broken leg. It is possible you broke it while running, but we aren't entirely sure."

Just a broken leg. I suppose the injury could have been worse. But I wasn't about to tell the nurse where that injury had come from. Just the thought made my stomach twist with rage. If I could I would've made sure Dmitri suffered for all that he did.

"Where is Director Fury?" I demanded, keeping my voice as steady as I could.

"He is busy at the moment, but Romanoff wanted to speak with you as soon as you were awake," one of the nurses explained as the others shuffled out of the room.

My shoulders sagged in relief. The relief was short lived though. If Fury was busy than he was likely explaining to the council while SHIELD sent some random new recruit on a mission that was meant for someone with more experience. How was I supposed to know I'd be the target of a mastermind plot?

Seconds later and Natasha stepped into the room. If there's one thing I've learned about Natasha, it's that she was able to hide her emotions well. Almost to the point that it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Bur right now she actually looked more sympathetic than anything else. And I knew something was up. The only one who has ever been able to read her emotions was Clint. Clearly she knew something that I didn't as she stood in front of me, hands her hips.

"So, how long am I off duty?" I grimaced as I sat up straighter, trying to keep eye contact with her. Natasha was not the best person to piss off. Of course most of the SHIELD agents I've come to know were not the best people to piss off.

"Until your leg heals, two to three weeks," Natasha replied. "The Tesseract energy seems to only heal wounds, but from what we've gathered it can also mend broken bones as well."

I nodded, remembering what Bruce had told me a few weeks ago before he went off the grid. He had told me that the Tesseract worked differently depending on what type of injury I had. After running several tests (luckily without having to injure me in the process), he came to the conclusion that it could heal more than just wounds.

"I'm sorry," I muttered crossly. Natasha raised an eyebrow in surprise, and I quickly explained, "none of this would've happened had I stayed vigilant. I put your lives in danger because of my rash thinking."

"Don't blame yourself for this," she snapped. "None of us could predict what would happen next."

It was than I noticed how annoyed she looked. Was she annoyed with me? Or was she annoyed with herself that she didn't see this coming? As a SHIELD agent you were always supposed to look out for anything suspicious. That was just part of being a spy. It was a lesson every new recruit was taught before they even started their training.

"What happened to the others?" I asked warily.

Natasha looked slightly taken aback by my question. But she recovered so quickly that I tilted my head to one side in confusion.

"Laedger was badly wounded during the fight," she admitted. "We don't know if he'll make a full recovery."

My fists clenched tighter at the thought of losing a fellow SHIELD agent. I didn't know him, and I already felt grief for him. I hated knowing that it was my fault he could die. If there was anything I could do to stop it, I would.

"Wait, is there any possibilities of me visiting him?" I suddenly demanded. Bruce had said that my powers could do more than just heal my wounds. If what he said was true, than maybe, just maybe, I could heal Laedger's wounds as well.

She raised an eyebrow, suddenly looking more skeptical than anything else.

"The nurses made it quite clear that you need to stay here until you've recovered," she told me in a firm tone. I just folded my arms and stared at her defiantly. Even if she locked me in the room I'd find some way out. If I could save this guy than I was going to die trying. Finally when it looked like I wasn't going to cave in, Natasha let out a sigh of frustration. "Alright, but we're doing this my way."

I tried not to grin as she helped me to my feet. I refused to be wheeled to the room - there were people who needed it more than I did. Besides, this wasn't going to be a long walk if my hunches were right. We were in the same hospital, and hopefully on the same floor.

Sure enough Laedger was only a few doors down from my room. A few passing nurses and doctors had looked at us in surprise as Natasha led me to his room. She didn't bother explaining what we were up. One of the doctors that had been in my room a few minutes ago stepped out to give us some space.

"He's been out cold since we got here," Natasha explained as we approached the hospital bed. I winced when I saw that his arm was wrapped in bandages. A nasty gash above his right eye suggested that he had been putting up a fight before getting knocked out cold. "We had to use sedatives to keep him calm."

That would explain why he was still out cold. From what I gathered I'd been out for a few days. So I could only imagine the pain Laedger was in after the fight he'd put up.

I took a deep breath before concentrating on the energy. It would require a lot of energy to heal wounds this deep. I was thankful Natasha was there just in case things went wrong. I cringed at the thought of making things worse than they already were.

_Don't mess up_. _Don't think of what could go wrong_. In a matter of seconds the glowing blue aura appeared over my hands, and I could feel the release of energy already. _Don't tense up_. _That will only increase the pain_.

The wounds were beginning to heal. Like magic each one closed up as the bandages were removed. I was careful to move slowly and ensure that his wounds were fully healed. Eventually most of the energy was drained from me, and Natasha held me up once the wounds were healed.

"They're in this room." My mind was still fuzzy as a nurse walked in, eyes wide with shock as she took in what had happened.

"She should be in a hospital bed," she said in an accusing tone when Natasha explained everything. But her expression softened when she noticed that Laedger's worst injuries were healed. "I suppose given the circumstances, I'll let this one slide. But after today you're to stay in your room for three weeks," she ordered.

I just shrugged as if it didn't matter. Truth be told I was happy to be somewhat useful after what had happened. Even if I couldn't go out into the field I could still heal wounds. Maybe this could make up for putting everyone's lives in danger.

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**AN: Here's the next chapter. Thanks again Welcome To The New for reviewing! You're awesome as always ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

"**I was finished, game over, Couldn't carry the weight on my shoulders, At my end, in trouble, Knocked down on the ground seein' double But then Your love, love opened my eyes, Lifted me up, up, now I'm alive, I raise my hands, hands to the sky, Singing "Oh oh oh oh oh oh" "Oh oh oh oh oh" Oh Lord, I'm a different man, You gave me a second chance, I was lost, I was fallin' apart, But You came along, and You hit the restart...**" Restart, Newsboys

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**Chapter Seven**

Three weeks went by like a blur. In the time I was stuck in the hospital Laedger had been released, supposedly making a 'miraculous recovery'. He even asked for the nurses that were around at the time of his recovery. None of them had told him what really happened. I don't think I want that kind of fame, especially after what I went through when Dmitri had captured me. Besides, I didn't do it for the sake of gaining popularity. I healed his wounds because I felt responsible for what had happened to him.

So now as the bandages wrapped around my leg were taken off, I was finally free to walk around. Now I had a slight limp as I stumbled forward, but it was better than being stuck in the hospital bed. Hopefully what the nurse had said about my leg was true. That the limp would eventually go away as I started walking around more.

Once outside the hospital room my shoulders sagged in relief. I've never felt more happy to be out of a hospital bed. Last time I was stuck in a room like that was... well, I'd rather not think about that. Already that burning pain came back, stretching over my arm where the scars were located. Gently I rubbed my hand up and down my arm, hoping the pain would dull down.

A long time had passed since I had an attack like that. When the memories of those students attacking me came back, the pain was worse than ever. I could still remember their taunting laughter as if it had happened yesterday. The feeling of helplessness suddenly returned along with an overwhelming anger. I never hated them for what they had done. They didn't know any better. Nobody ever told them that it was wrong. But that intense grief and anger kept on coming back, haunting my thoughts.

"Miss Karson, Director Fury would like to speak with you." A nurse stopped beside me, looking rather wary as she looked at me. "He said it was urgent that he speak with you," she added a bit more nervously.

"I'll be there in a few," I muttered with a wave of my hand. The nurse didn't even look surprised by my response. Director Fury likely wanted to know the full detail of who had captured me. I wasn't sure if he was the one who went behind the council's back, but I did know that he did care. Even if it was just a smidgen amount of care, at least it was something. I'm sure there were plenty of agents higher up that he could replace me with right at this second.

I made my way down the hall, surprised that Director Fury was even at the hospital. I've learned quite a lot about the way SHIELD operates. It has several buildings located throughout the US, and only a small amount in other countries. The building of operations in New York was smaller than the rest, but it was also the busiest of them all next to Headquarters. Many of the agents working within were trained in different fields. Some of them went on to become medical staff. Others were like Romanoff and Barton, going off on missions to keep the world at peace. I noticed that many of SHIELD's agents were highly intelligent. Like Bruce Banners intelligent. Most of them were put on teams and helped design weapons for SHIELD.

It made me wonder what kind of field I would be categorized under. I wasn't exactly the smartest sheep in the flock. But what I locked in intelligence I made up for in fighting spirit, I suppose. Natasha was teaching me all of the basic fighting skills I needed, and even that wasn't enough to protect me. Maybe what Fury had said about me becoming a full agent was true. Maybe it was time to put school aside for a while and have time for some actual training.

"Emma, it's good to see you've made a full recovery." As soon as I walked inside the office Director Fury greeted me. I wasn't surprised to see him standing over his desk, eying me with the slightest amount of caution. "According to the file Romanoff wrote on you, you saved another agent's life," he added.

"Yeah, apparently I discovered that the Tesseract can heal other people's wounds as well," I explained with a shrug. I'd been testing it out for the last few days, careful not to make it obvious to the nurses and doctors. So far they've been impressed with how quickly wounds could heal.

"I know these past few days have been hard on you, but I want to know exactly who enforced your capture," Fury suddenly dropped the question he'd likely been dying to ask. This time I dropped my gaze. It was likely SHIELD had been monitoring my progress at school. So he probably already knew it was Bulldozer who kidnapped me.

"His name was Dmitri Smerdyakov, sir," I explained. Fury's face hardened at the name. "He was the one who ordered Bulldozer to attack me during school hours, and I believe he was the one who let the Wrecker break into prison."

Fury pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh of frustration. I'd read a few files on Dmitri after I was given the opportunity. He was known to those who worked for SHIELD as Chameleon, a man of many faces. But that wasn't what really got my attention. It was the fact that he was intelligent, cunning and ruthless in every sense of the word that made me want to throw the file across the room.

"The man managed to infiltrate SHIELD a few weeks before you joined," Fury told me after pulling up some files on a tablet (I wonder if he carried that thing everywhere?). "It wasn't until Romanoff mentioned something that we figured it out."

And that was when I had noticed something strange about that agent who joined us after a training session. I knew I should've trusted my instincts.

"So does SHIELD have any idea where he is now?" Odds were he already knew SHIELD was looking for him. If he was as good as the files had said, than he already changed identities. Which meant now looking for him would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"We got a lead a few days ago. I'm sending a team out to find him," he replied. "If he's out there, we'll find him."

That wasn't very reassuring. But I knew there was no point in arguing. Dmitri would be found, sooner or later. And hopefully he would get the punishment he deserved.

"There's something else I wanted to discuss with you," Fury added once an awkward silence fell upon us. "After having a... long chat with both Clint and Natasha, it's been decided that you should start training at one of SHIELD's academies."

My blood ran cold at those words. I've heard stories about SHIELD Academy. It was actually a group of schools, each one programed for students with different needs. The schools were tough. They trained you to become a master assassin, and if you survived than you moved on to become one of SHIELD's top agents.

"Look, I know it's what SHIELD wants-" Fury cut me off with a wave of his hand.

"From the intel we've gathered you might not be welcomed back to your school," he told me, voice cold as ice. "Rumors are flying around like wildfire - and you of all people should know that no good can come out of that."

Now I understood what he was getting at. Everyone at school probably thought I was some kind of nutcase for disappearing like that. Rumors had already been spreading before I was captured. None of the students had figured out what I was really up to, which was probably a good thing.

I bit the bottom of my lip before thinking over an answer. I doubt this was an offer Fury made to everyone. But the thought of spending the rest of my life in a place like SHIELD Academy made my skin crawl. Would I miss the old days back in high school? Probably not.

"Sir, may I please have time to think this over?" I asked with a shake of my head. It was too soon to decide. I needed time to consider his suggestion, even if it meant risking a position in SHIELD.

Fury looked surprised by my response, but he didn't question it either. "Very well, I'll give you a day starting tomorrow to figure this out," he replied.

This time it was my turn to look surprised. It seemed like Fury really did want me around. Although I had a feeling he wanted my powers more than he wanted me. Thanks to the Tesseract he was stuck with a random teenager from another world.

"Thank you, sir," I murmured. Fury just raised an eyebrow as I backed out of the small office, still unsure of whether or not this was really happening. I really hoped I didn't blow my only chance of getting _real_ training.

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**AN: Decided to update twice since this chapter was shorter than the other. Yay for double updates :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"**But I will hold on hope, And I won't let you choke, On the noose around your neck And I'll find strength in pain, And I will change my ways, I'll know my name as it's called again 'Cause I have other things to fill my time, You take what is yours and I'll take mine, Now let me at the truth, Which will refresh my broken mind...**" The Cave, Mumford and Sons

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**Chapter Eight**

For the first time since the Chitauri attack I had no idea what I wanted to do.

Director Fury had offered me a place in SHIELD Academy. I knew that this wasn't something he offered to just anyone. But what I was more concerned about was how long I'd be there. How long I would be cut off from the outside world.

Steve had a few days off before he went back to Washington D.C. When I first joined SHIELD he was transferred over to SHIELD's headquarters. So it was nice to spend the next few hours exploring the city with him. He seemed more than eager to show me what all the best places were according to him.

All the while my mind was still on Fury's offer. I was torn between wanting to spend more time in high school and learning how to become a real agent. Not that Natasha and Clint's training sessions (which could be very painful at times) weren't helping.

Finally during lunch I decided to ask Steve what he thought of it all. Maybe he could give me some advice on what to do next. After all he chose to join SHIELD, though he didn't need to go through any training like other new recruits.

"I just don't know what to say," I sighed as I picked at the fries in the basket. "Fury wants to know by tomorrow what I've decided, but after the last few weeks I'm having second thoughts."

"After what those bastards did to you I'm not surprised," Steve muttered.

Natasha must have told him what happened. Grimacing at the memories I decided it was better not to think back on it. It was in the past, and I survived for the most part. Some people often say that you can find strength in that kind of pain.

"What did Fury tell you when you were transferred to Washington?" I asked.

"He didn't say much, other than explaining that SHIELD could use a Super Soldier to keep a few agents in line," he replied. "I think you should take up on his offer. It might do you some good learning from these academies."

I nearly choked on the soda I was drinking. Why was Steve always the one who left me speechless? Maybe because out of all the Avengers, he was the only one who was truly honest. I've learned in a short time that he doesn't appreciate liars. And understandably so.

"I might not be back for a few months," I pointed out. It almost sounded like I was trying to convince myself. Who knows, I might be trying to do so. I just couldn't see myself becoming part of some strict code that I'm sure the academy offered.

"And you might learn some valuable lessons," he told me. "Think about it, SHIELD never lets in random civilians. This might be the only time the Avengers could gather useful information on SHIELD."

Well that explained his motives for moving to headquarters. I knew that Steve didn't fully trust SHIELD. It was an organization made up of spies after all. The highest ranks were fully trained master assassins. And I was training to become one.

"So did Fury send you here to convince me?" Steve looked at me in surprise when I asked that question. Knowing Fury he would do something like that. Send in a trusted friend (at least I thought we were friends now) to try and convince me into going.

"No," he answered. "Honestly I didn't even know about this until you told me."

I let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the chair. Maybe he was right. I wasn't doing this for myself. But this would be a good opportunity to gather intel on SHIELD's training methods. Obviously I couldn't blurt out everything to the public.

Tony would want to know what SHIELD was up to. I'm sure Natasha and Clint already know what these 'schools' are like. Bruce was off the grid right now, spending some alone time where ever there was little population. And Thor was all the way on Asgard.

So I guess it was my job to find out the truth.

"Thank you, for spending your time off with me," I finally murmured. I really was grateful for the company. Steve had given me enough time to think it over properly. And with no Fury breathing down my neck, it really did feel like I was chatting with an old friend.

Okay even I knew that was a bad pun. Sorry Steve.

"I figured you could use the company," he replied with a shrug.

The rest of the day went by without a hitch. When we finished out lunch we parted ways and I returned to my apartment. It wasn't a big space; there was enough room for about four people in the living area. But the kitchen was newly renovated and I had a bedroom.

It would be strange not spending time here again. Of course thanks to the training from Natasha and Clint every night and weekend, I hardly had time to spend here. The sun was beginning to set, and by this time tomorrow I would be gone.

What would my parents think if they remembered me? I doubted they'd approve the life I was living now. They were always strict about what I did or didn't do. But after the last few years before I moved they ignored me completely. All of their attention was focused on my sister. She was the better one who always got straight As and excelled in just about everything. I was the one who sat in the background waiting for my big chance to prove myself. Getting attacked by those students was the last straw.

They wouldn't even miss me. As I started packing those words kept haunting the back of my mind. None of my family would miss me, except maybe my uncles. I was always closer to them than my own father. And now they wouldn't even know I existed.

I didn't even notice the tears that were threatening to overwhelm me. When I first woke up in this world I didn't know what to make of it. At first I thought it was just a dream turned nightmare. But when Loki had stabbed me in the stomach I knew then and there that it was reality.

While I was in the Marvel universe everyone else was oblivious. And at first Director Fury had thought I was crazy because of what I had said. But eventually he realized that I was telling the truth. Or he had other motives for letting me join SHIELD.

Once the bags were all packed I went through some of the old boxes stored in the back of my closet. After my 'adventure' with the Avengers, I kept everything locked up in this closet from the old world. It was like a reminder of the old days before this had happened.

A note written by Casey was crumpled in the back of the box, along with letters sent by my parents the first month I moved away. That first month was like hell for me. I didn't know where I was going and I got lost several times in the city. Casey was the only one who had noticed me, ironically enough, at the time. She helped me get a job and adjust to the new school.

I unfolded the note and looked at the picture we took on the day we first met. Those were some of the happiest moments of my life.

"Having second thoughts?" I think my heart nearly skipped a beat when I heard Natasha's voice from behind me. "No lock has ever kept me out," she added with the slightest of smirks.

"No, of course I'm not," I muttered crossly. "I was just wondering what my life would've been like before... you know."

Guilt suddenly gnawed at my stomach. Part of me wondered why I even joined SHIELD if I wanted to continue on with my normal life. And another part told me that it was my responsibility. Like joining SHIELD was making up for all the times I ran away when a fight occurred.

"What exactly do you know about SHIELD Academy?" I suddenly asked as I put away the boxes.

"That information is classified," she replied almost as soon as I asked.

Well that was helpful. I suppose being out in the public meant Natasha had to keep on her poker face attitude. If anyone found out about these training academies SHIELD would likely be shut down in a heartbeat. I imagined the school wasn't easy to get through.

"Students are trained to be the best of the best," she added when I offered her a cup of coffee. One thing I've learned about the Avengers is to always have coffee ready. I preferred staying away from the stuff, but every now and than I'd take a drink or two.

"So Fury thinks I'm capable of being one of them?" I couldn't picture myself being some kind of tech genius like some of the agents I've met. My sister might have a place in that field, but I couldn't even solve an entire math equation.

"He believes with the right push you could become the next top agent."

Why did that sound so familiar? As I thought about it I was reminded of what Fury had said to agent Hill back on the Hellicarrier. He had said the team needed the right push. Was this Fury's way of trying to motivate me? Cause if it was it wasn't working.

"I think I'm ready," I murmured halfheartedly while eying the packed bags on my sofa.

This was an opportunity of a lifetime. And despite the regret I felt earlier, there was no way I was going to miss out on it.

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**AN: Again, sorry for the short chapter. I haven't been struggling with writing it, I was just lazy ^^" But with this finished we shall move on and see what happens next. Thanks Welcome To The New for reviewing!**


	9. Chapter 9

"**So this is what you meant, When you said that you were spent, And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit, Right to the top, Don't hold back, Packing my bags and giving the academy a rain-check I don't ever wanna let you down, I don't ever wanna leave this town, 'Cause after all, This city never sleeps at night It's time to begin, isn't it? I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit, I'm just the same as I was, Now don't you understand, That I'm never changing who I am...**" It's Time, Imagine Dragons

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**Chapter Nine**

SHIELD Academy was like no other school I had ever seen. The first thing I had learned was that it branched off into three different sections. One school was for brilliant scientists who were on the same level as Tony Stark intelligent. Another was for students who showed promise in combat and field work. The third was a combination of both.

It was the one school where students who were devoted to both combat and intelligence attended. And I was joining them.

The fact that Fury had assigned me to this school made me wonder if his eye patch was on a little too tight. True I was getting better in self defense. But intelligence... that was another story. The best thing I've ever done was hack a website when I was younger. It was easy to do since the website was run by someone from the school I originally went to.

What bothered me more than anything was the fact that they had blindfolded me before I arrived. Why SHIELD needed to go through such lengths should have offended me. Maybe it was some kind of safety protocol they used on every new recruit. Either way it was driving me crazy not knowing where we were.

After what felt like endless darkness we finally reached our destination. Luckily the pilot was Clint. Though I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Like I said, with the blindfold on it made things a bit more difficult for me. It was difficult enough getting through one dangerous mission. Said mission had nearly gotten me killed, and left a few traumatic memories as well. But I kept hoping that those memories would just go away in time, like the pain.

"Where are we?" The blindfold was removed, and I found myself standing in what looked like a dome-shaped room. Dull white walls surrounded me. Standing in the middle of the room was a desk with a woman sitting in front of it, staring at Clint in surprise.

"Agent Barton, I was told someone else would perform this procedure," the woman said as she steadied herself. She was shorter than I was expecting, with wavy brunette hair that was pulled up in a ponytail.

"Fury changed his mind at the last minute," Clint replied. The woman raised an eyebrow as he handed her a file - most likely a file on me that Fury had compiled.

I knew that SHIELD was keeping an eye on my progress. It was part of joining the agency. To make sure none of their agents were screw-ups. At least that was my assumption.

"Emma McKain Karson, your schedule was already written before you arrived," the woman explained after studying the file. She didn't look pleased with what she read. I simply folded my arms and waited for her to further explain herself. "Your room number is 129, here's your key."

When she handed it over along with a folder consisting of files, I eyed it warily. What the files were I would find out later. I wanted to know where my clothes were. Last night I had packed them in a duffel bag and when I woke up the following morning it was gone. At the time I didn't have a chance to ask who in their right mind would even bother taking it. But now I was curious.

"So explain to me how this whole SHIELD Academy works?" I asked as Clint led the way down the corridors. The lights were almost _too_ bright for my liking. It took me a few minutes to realize that we must be in an underground base somewhere.

"First thing's first, I'm your mentor," Clint suddenly snapped. "Along with your regular classes you'll be training with me and Widow for the next few months. This school is like none you've ever attended."

Well that was reassuring. I was taken aback by the sudden change in attitude, but not too surprised. Around here Clint and Natasha were not mere teachers. They were here to assess and see who was fit to be part of SHIELD.

I was lucky to have them as my mentors. While most students were learning rocket science and how to become top assassins, I could learn to become both. It wasn't an opportunity I could turn down so easily, especially since they were both my favorite Marvel characters.

As we walked on I noticed a group of students returning from what I assumed were their classes. I couldn't help but wince when I spotted their bruises, old and new. But they didn't appear to be in any physical pain. In fact I could see that most of them looked ready to take on the next challenge thrown at them.

The walk seemed endless as we went down a maze of hallways. Every now and than I could feel the floor lurching beneath my feet, than rise again into a hill. I wondered how far underground we were. These tunnels were extensive, to the point I'm sure it would be impossible for an enemy to find them.

"This is your room for the next few months." We reached the room in what felt like hours. As the door opened I couldn't help but breath out a sigh of relief.

The room was small, around the size of my room at my old apartment. But it was big enough for just one person. A cot was placed in the center of the room with sheets covering it. Once again the walls were bleached white. I had a feeling I was going to hate white after this was over. Near the back of the room was a desk with a laptop placed on top. I think I was more surprised to see that than the bed.

"What's that for?" I asked warily.

"You'll need it for classes," Clint explained. "You'll find your clothes in the dresser by your bed," he added. "Class starts in an hour."

Did he seriously expect me to find this class on my own? Apparently he did. I rolled my eyes as he left me standing there, gaping like an idiot. One of these days I'd have to ask for a map. Or if I ever had any free time explore these tunnels.

With a sigh of frustration I slammed the door shut behind me and searched the dresser for a change in clothes. At once I regretted doing so, realizing that there were only two outfits here: A standard SHIELD suit and regular t-shirt and jeans.

"Thanks a lot SHIELD," I muttered under my breath.

I suppose I should take whatever free time I had with the folder the woman had given me. It was a black folder with only a few files inside, but I could already see that they were an extensive read. Out of habit I bit the bottom of my lip as I scanned the first file.

My class schedule. Apparently I was taking different language courses. Latin, Russian and German. For a moment I wondered why German was listed there, considering I already took a year of German in my first year of high school. But I pushed the thought aside and continued studying the schedule, trying to memorize it. Along with the linguistic courses there were numerous science courses and math courses I would be taking.

And here I was hoping this would be easy. I sure hope I could get past the math courses. I had a basic B average, but that was about it. Math wasn't my strong point, and of course SHIELD would take advantage of that.

I tossed the schedule aside and looked at the rest of the files. They were mostly files on my time spent with SHIELD. I was surprised Fury had kept just about every detail. The one file that caught my attention was the second page. It was the file on the Tesseract, and how it effected both me and SHIELD.

The Tesseract isn't causing any damage. At least that was what Bruce told me the last time we met. But he did not deny that eventually it would be a problem. Which should have worried me when I heard that news. No one should ever live with that kind of energy coursing through them. Yet somehow I survived, in fact some would say I thrived on it. I could heal wounds and occasionally produce a powerful blast that was similar to Tony's Arch Reactor.

So from what I could gather this school wasn't going to be anything like high school. If my hunch was right than this would be like hell. And I just couldn't wait to get started.

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**AN: So sorry for the delay in updates. It's been a lack of inspiration and laziness. But mostly lack of inspiration. I will continue writing despite getting no reviews, but updates will be much slower. Aside from all of that, we've had some crazy weather last week. Golf ball sized hail damaged my mother's car and we were driving in it, though luckily neither of us were injured. Let me tell you, it's something you don't want to go through.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

For the next few hours I was studying the computer screen in front of me, ignoring the ringing in my ears. I was stuck in what appeared to be a classroom of sorts. Yet there were no other students inside. I was alone to face what felt like the most annoying test of my life.

Leave it to SHIELD to give me the biggest headache ever. The words on the screen were almost too much for my brain to handle. They were words someone like Bruce Banner would use. Though I will admit it didn't take me long to understand the terminology listed in front of me. I think what was bothering me more than anything else was the fact that I had been placed in a room on my own.

I wanted to be treated like any other student here. Yet here I was, waiting for someone, anyone to walk in and slap me on the wrist. It only just dawned on me that this might be a test as well. Maybe this was SHIELD's cruel way of finding out how I dealt with situations like these.

Well two could play at that game.

Holding back a grin, I clicked on the nearest link and typed in a few pass codes when an error screen showed up. I've hacked into computer systems before, but they were never as extensive as this. The security system on these computers was amazing.

Luckily for me that security amounted to nothing once I hacked into it. Files immediately sprang up of SHIELD's most wanted list. As I sifted through the files I began to notice one file in particular. It was a name I'd heard of before, one that made my teeth clench with outrage.

His codename was known as the Chameleon. Dmitri was his real name, but according to the files no one knew what he truly looked like. He could change his appearance in a matter of seconds when he needed to get off the grid. In other words, he knew how to play the system.

My grip on the mouse tightened as I studied the picture. I would never forgive him for what he had done. Forgiveness was something I had always felt the need to have. It was like a lifeline for me. But here I was, glaring at the computer screen and an unmoving image that seemed to be mocking me.

I was about to click on another link when an alarm sounded. Almost at once I bolted upright and stared around, wide-eyed. The room suddenly felt much smaller as the door swung open.

"Told you she was fast." A smug grin was spread across Clint's face as he leaned against the doorway. The woman I'd seen earlier, Barbara Mathenson, looked stunned that I'd managed to hack into the system.

"How in the stars did she manage to beat the security that fast?" She was already at my side typing away furiously.

"The same way you managed to move out while you were still a minor," Clint replied. His voice was stern, but I didn't miss the amusement in it.

"Wait, was this a test?" I eyed the screen warily as it went blank. Barbara let out a sigh of frustration.

"You could say that. It's a test we give to many of our new recruits, to see just how skilled they are with technology," she explained.

Well that's a big help. With a roll of my eyes I stood up and glared at her.

"So what now? I've still got my regular schedule to attend to," I muttered crossly. Not to mention all of the studying I needed to get finished. Only one hour into my first day and I was already sick of this place.

I couldn't turn my back now. If I suddenly gave up it would look like a weakness. My parents always did say I was one of the most stubborn kids they had ever seen. It made me wonder where I ever got that attitude from.

"Get to class, we'll meet up after lunch break," Clint ordered.

That smirk never went away. For a moment I was tempted to slug him in the arm. But I pushed the thought away and stalked out of the room, grumbling under my breath as I left. I could still feel Barbara's piercing gaze boring into my back until I turned a corner.

"That girl is trouble," I heard her say.

Did I seriously look that bad? Shaking my head, I couldn't help but wonder that.

True I had difficulty following orders. I liked to do things my way. And that could become one of my biggest mistakes, according to Natasha. Maybe that was how I ended up getting captured so easily. Again I tried putting off the uneasy thoughts aside.

It wasn't even eight in the morning and I was already exhausted. This was going to be a long day.

. . .

I let out a panicked yelp as I avoided a punch. Another was thrown right into the right side of my cheek. I retaliated by jumping back and kicking Clint square on in the chest. The attack left him gasping for breath as I landed on a mat next to him. Adrenaline surged through me, and not for the first time I felt the rush of it exhilarate my system.

We were both working up a sweat. So far we've been sparring for two hours and I've hardly noticed the time passing by. My frizzy hair was pulled back in a ponytail to keep it from distracting me, and I wore a pair of gloves to protect my wrists from stinging punches.

This was the first time I'd actually ever seen Agent Barton in action. I have to say that I was impressed. He wasn't lithe like Natasha, but he was agile and strong. What he lacked in flexibility he made up for in strength.

"You need to stay focused!" Clint suddenly snapped my attention as I studied the mat under our feet. One moment I was staring at it, and the next I found myself pinned against it. His strong grip held back my arms as I struggled to free myself.

All at once I ceased my struggling. I could sense his confusion, and as he started to relax his grip I suddenly twisted around and threw a fist into his nose. Once Clint reeled back in surprise I got up to my feet and jumped back so that he couldn't reach me.

"You can thank Widow for that move," I taunted as he rubbed his now bruised nose.

Truth be told I had more bruises than he did. After punching me several times (I'll admit I did get easily distracted), I finally settled the score. My triumph however was short lived. Clint lunged forward and grabbed me by the shoulders, twisting so that I landed forward in an awkward position.

"And I'm sure she taught you not to let your guard down." I rolled my eyes when he let me up. Once again he was smirking. The term if looks could kill suddenly seemed all too real as I glared at him.

I knew this was part of my training. I had to be prepared for anything. Even if that meant getting my ass handed to me every few seconds. But this was one of those moments where I wished I could smack that expression off his face.

"You only won because I'm already out of it," I retorted after brushing the dirt off my suit. I hated admitting that this suit was comfortable. Considering it was designed by SHIELD I supposed it shouldn't surprise me.

"I'll let the surveillance cameras be the judge of that." He just laughed when I glared at him.

I was about to make another retort when I thought better of it. Right now I was too exhausted to say anything else. After that computer test I'd had three hours of math, science and language all mixed in together. I found out that most of the students here are new recruits.

Many of them were like me. Born without a family to care for them, or their family just ignored them all together. But there was one big difference between us, and it was pretty obvious.

The recruits were already whispering rumors about me and how I arrived here. Apparently I was a high school dropout with no future ahead of me. And SHIELD only took me in because I somehow wound up on the Hellicarrier as their prisoner.

While the rumor was partly true, I was no high school dropout. The only reason I had joined this school was because Fury had recommended it. I already was a part of SHIELD, aside from having the official badge and all. Fury had told me that I would get the badge when I earned it.

Once my training with Clint was finished I had a sparring session with Natasha. She was more ruthless than Clint, aiming each time at a new spot that didn't have a bruise. I was already worn out from my previous sparring session.

I didn't even want to know when or how she got here. I was just thankful to have a sparring partner like her - someone who would tough it out no matter the circumstances. And the further we went along the more powerful her punches and kicks got. It didn't take me long to realize what she was doing.

"So, you got a mission coming up any time soon?" I asked while dodging to the side, narrowly avoiding her fist.

"Fury's got me working overtime," she muttered after ducking to avoid a swing of my leg.

This time I couldn't help but wince as I recoiled from the stinging of her fists. She did sound warier than usual. Than again she often had a mask hiding her emotions. The only one who has ever seen her mask removed was Clint.

"Well at least you're not stuck here," I said under my breath.

She didn't say much after that. We just kept sparring until I was ready to collapse from exhaustion.

I think it was at that point I almost passed out. My body wasn't used to this much exertion. This training really would come in handy if I were ever caught in a mission as demanding as this.

"Get some rest," Clint walked in once we were finished. Natasha was just removing her gloves when he stopped by. "You'll need it for tomorrow."

The two of them exchanged a knowing look. I rolled my eyes before realizing that he was probably right.

Taking a deep breath I walked out of the room, relieved to take a break at last. I think what I needed now more then ever was a nice shower to soothe my already sore muscles. After that it was more studying and trying to hack the system again.


	11. Chapter 11

"**When the day has come, That I've lost my way around And the seasons stop and hide beneath the ground, When the sky turns gray And everything is screaming, I will reach inside, Just to find my heart is beating Oh, you tell me to hold on, But innocence is gone, And what was right is wrong 'Cause I'm bleeding out So if the last thing that I do, Is to bring you down I'll bleed out for you...**" Bleeding Out, Imagine Dragons

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

"Do you really think you're worthy of SHIELD?"

"Or of being a hero?"

Voices rang in my head. Familiar taunting voices that made my fists clench with anger. I had not heard the voices in some time now.

"You're nothing. A worthless brat who can't even defend yourself."

That did it.

I wasn't even sure where or who I was aiming at. The voices got louder, and their laughter seemed to echo off the black walls surrounding me. My fists made contact with air. All the pent up rage I'd felt earlier suddenly returned.

It was times like these I wished there was a memory eraser. The words were new. But the taunting was all too familiar. I remember it like it was yesterday.

The kids at school were taunting me, formed in a circle so the teachers wouldn't see what they were up to. I'd been alone at the time. I never had any friends. They were always mocking me for my beliefs. I had a strong belief in God, and it would never change, even now.

"Emma!" The voice was shouting again. Anger flaring up once again, energy blasted from the palm of my hands at the invisible target. Suddenly it felt like my whole world was tumbling around me. "Wake up!"

I blinked in surprise when I recognized the voice this time. In a matter of seconds I found myself sitting on my bed. Natasha was seated beside me, shaking me until I was brought back to reality. It took me a few minutes to realize what had happened.

"How'd you get in my room?" I groaned, trying to shake off the memories of the nightmare. That was one nightmare that would forever haunt me. The scars on my arm always hurt more when I thought about them, reminding me of what had happened.

"No lock has ever kept me out," she explained. "An alarm sounded in your room. You were firing energy shots in your sleep."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. How was that even possible? I knew I could fire energy created by the Tesseract. But I always thought I needed to be awake in order to use it.

"I just had a nightmare, nothing real serious," I murmured before she could ask what had happened.

"When was the last time you had a check up with Dr. Banner?" I raised an eyebrow when she asked that. It was when I had been rescued from Dmitri. Our reunion had been brief, as he was getting ready to leave for the next few months.

Now that I thought about it I realized that he didn't really check on the Tesseract level. He always told me that it was nothing to worry about. From the data he and Tony managed to gather it wasn't killing me. But he'd never mentioned whether or not the Tesseract could get stronger.

"Do you know where he might be? Last time I checked he went off the grid." I looked away, feeling unnerved all of a sudden.

What it the Tesseract had suddenly started reacting in a way that could kill me? It's not like I was afraid to die. I just didn't want the others hurt if I couldn't control it.

"Unfortunately that information is classified," she replied after looking away. Once again I was left rolling my eyes in annoyance. "But we do have two brilliant scientists who might know what to do." As she got up I had to wonder who she meant. I've never met anyone that intelligent here. Than again I haven't really spoken to anyone yet. "Get some rest, I'll give them a call and make sure they stop by."

As she walked out my head fell back onto the cot. The silence that followed was strangely comforting. Normally I hated silence. I always had some kind of music playing right before I went to sleep. It was just some kind of habit I'd formed. But here I was laying on the cot, staring at the ceiling.

For a moment I was tempted to wish things would go back to normal. Five months ago I would have loved to be part of this world. And the next thing I know I was warped here in this universe, where the Avengers were real and nobody knew who I was.

"**All the right moves and all the right places...**" I suddenly started whispering a song I knew all too well by One Republic. They were my favorite group hands down. And their music always seemed to help calm me down during situations like this.

Yeah, all the right moves that were about to get me killed. I really hoped these scientists knew what they were doing when we meet. Last thing I wanted was to hear that they had no experience in this field.

. . .

I swung my body to the left as I leaped for the nearest rope. Clint was watching as he leaned against the wall, studying each course of action I took next. This gym really did have everything. An obstacle course that had just about everything I needed lay before me.

As I let go of the rope I twisted so that I could catch the next one. I felt like a monkey swinging from vine to vine. But this was how I would improve my flexibility. My body was already adapting to the course. Once I reached the last rope I let go and landed on a railing that was just below my feet.

This actually felt amazing. Being able to coordinate my balance so that I could walk on the rail, I moved faster than ever. Once I was finished I jumped down so that I was standing in front of Clint.

"Not bad," he muttered as I caught my breath.

"Saying that _had_ to hurt." Again I felt the sudden urge to punch him, but I held back. If I did that now he would likely attack me in the process.

"You have no idea." With a roll of his eyes he straightened up once I knew for sure we were finished. "Come on, there's someone you should meet in the medical bay."

Nat must have talked to him the other night. I'm sure she had already contacted Fury about my recent nightmares. They were just dreams, but they had felt so real. And what bothered me more than anything was the fact that I was able to fire energy blasts in my sleep. Something like that has never happened to me before.

We wandered down the endless halls once again. It felt like that was all I did these days. Just wander from hall to hall, from class to class. But in the end I knew it would be worth the exhausting journey. This really was an opportunity of a life time.

I spotted a group of recruits eating in the lunch room. They seemed oblivious to us, but a few of them were glancing out the window warily. I had no doubt they were more concerned about Clint than they were of me. He could easily kill them without a single regret.

As we passed them I couldn't help but look away. Normally I ate on my own. It's not like I didn't get along with anyone. I just preferred being alone. Solitude could be a friend when I needed it.

When we reached the medical bay I felt my heart nearly skip a beat. Hospital beds were scattered throughout the room. Monitors were placed beside the beds, along with several other instruments I wasn't familiar with. Standing at a counter were two young looking scientists dressed in lab coats. They seemed so interested in their research that they didn't notice they had visitors. It wasn't until Clint made a coughing noise that the woman reeled around in surprise.

"Oh, excuse us agent Barton," she apologized in a sheepish tone. I raised an eyebrow when I noticed her accent.

"We were just finishing up a project of ours for the Science Academy, " the gentleman standing next to her explained.

"Sounds interesting," I said.

"Oh it is. This project could become a medical breakthrough." These people must not get sarcasm. Though I will admit it was amusing seeing how fascinated they were with their explanations.

"I'll just leave you three alone," Clint suddenly muttered.

I was about to protest when I thought better of it. Really, I was not looking forward to being locked in a room with complete strangers. These people may seem nice now, but it could all be an act. I've been too trusting in the past. That all changed a few weeks ago.

The awkward silence that followed made me wish that a hole would suddenly open up and swallow me. I hated being stuck in situations like these. It was like this the first time I'd ended up on the Hellicarrier. Only at that time I was sure Fury would've locked me in prison for the rest of my life.

"Hi, you must be the new recruit everyone's been talking about," the woman greeted me once we were alone. I just kept staring at her as her partner grabbed a syringe. "I'm sorry, I'm Jemma Simmons," she explained when she realized why I was just staring at her.

"And I'm Leo Fitz," her partner added when joined her.

Oh wow. In a way these two reminded me of Natasha and Clint. But in a high school romance sort of way. They already seemed perfectly in sink with each other.

"Emma Karson," I introduced myself after shaking each of their hands.

"We know very well who you are, Miss Karson," Jemma explained. I couldn't help but wince as Leo took a sample of my blood. I assumed this was all part of the procedure - just make small talk and see what's really going on in my head.

"And just how do you know me so well?" I raised an eyebrow skeptically.

Knowing Fury he would have posted the whole news of my sudden appearance all over SHIELD's database just to spite me. Our first meeting really didn't go over all that well. And I was sure that he would not hesitate to kill me if he had the chance.

"Everyone in SHIELD talks about you," Leo replied while studying the sample he'd just taken. "You're the girl who has no records, who just randomly appeared on the Hellicarrier one day. From what I recall you also believed we're fictional characters."

This time I did a double take on Leo. Okay, maybe they did know more than I'd like. It made me wonder just how much the rest of SHIELD knew about me.

"Don't worry, they don't talk about you too much," Jemma said in a reassuring tone when she noticed my nervousness.

I really hoped she was right. The last thing I needed were more rumors flying around about me being the biggest mistake SHIELD ever made.


	12. Chapter 12

"**Well if I come across a little bit distant, It's just because I am, Things just seem to feel a little bit different You understand, Believe it or not but life is not apparently About me anyways, But I have met the One who really is worthy So let me say So long, self Well, it's been fun, but I have found somebody else ****So long, self, There's just no room for two So you are gonna have to move, So long, self Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell, Oh well, goodbye, don't cry So long, self...**" So Long Self, MercyMe

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

"This is amazing!" Jemma's squeal made me jump in surprise.

For the last few hours I'd been stuck in the medical bay. Jemma and Leo were busy looking at the blood sample they had taken from me. Neither of them said much, but I could tell from the looks they exchanged they were talking with their eyes.

"Your blood is so different from ours," Leo put in. "The energy levels are off the charts."

Well that didn't sound even remotely normal. Bruce had mentioned the same thing a few months when I'd last seen him.

He once told me that my energy level was dangerously high. That if I didn't get it under control it could possibly kill me. I never realized just how serious he really was about that. At the time I didn't even know the Tesseract would be this dangerous.

"What really amazes me though is the... side effects of this energy," Jemma went on. I raised an eyebrow when she glanced over at me warily. "From the data we've gathered you are capable of healing yourself, and firing energy blasts similar to the Ark Reactor." She looked at me as if I'd agree with her.

Of course she was right. Though I could fire those energy shots I didn't exactly have control over them. Maybe that was why I was able to fire them in my sleep.

"So... what exactly does this mean?" I asked.

"Don't quote me on this but, if our theory is correct the Tesseract energy within you is evolving... somehow," Leo replied.

Evolving? What the hell did that mean?

Questions rose in my mind as I thought that over. If what they said was true than it was possible the Tesseract would become more dangerous than ever. I really didn't want to be responsible for unnecessary deaths.

"We'll need to run more tests to ensure that our theory is correct," Jemma added. "But I can assure you that your life is not in any danger."

Well that was reassuring. But it still left me wondering how it was even possible for something like this to even occur. I could only hope that Jemma and Leo would come up with something soon. Otherwise this might just drive me crazy.

Once I was finished working with them I took my leave to get back to class. It was obvious from the stares I received that no one here trusted me. Truthfully I couldn't really blame them for their lack of trust. For the most part I was just some random new recruit that just showed up a few days ago. And all of a sudden I was thrown into their lives just like that.

By now I've gotten used to the stares. It wasn't like I could stop them from staring, even if I wanted to. I sat in the back of the room during the lecture. This was the best time I had to relax and think about what Jemma and Leo had told me.

My fingers tapped along the desk nervously as I thought over the possibilities of the Tesseract and my body's reaction to it. For the first time since I've woken up in this world I was actually _scared_. I never thought I would actually be afraid. It was possible the Tesseract could kill me like I had thought earlier. Unless of course I somehow managed to learn how to control it. Part of me always wanted to learn how to control it, I just never knew how.

The lecture was over in a matter of hours. And by that time I had already mulled over all the possibilities given to me. Now my finger was twirling in my hair as the room cleared. The few students that did remain were giving me cautious looks as I walked past them.

"Did you hear the news?" Two students I passed were still standing in the hall, chattering away like it was a normal day at school. I slowed my pace so that I could catch what they were whispering.

"Yeah, Alexander Pierce is going from academy to academy to find new recruits from Project Insight." That caught my attention.

I'd often heard Director Fury complaining about Alexander Pierce. He was the head of SHIELD, higher above the ranks than even Fury. I didn't know much about him, but I've seen pictures of his face in the files. And when I saw the movie Avengers he was part of the Council that decided to send in a nuclear missal to stop the war against Loki. That plan had failed miserably, and I still wasn't sure what to make of him.

Project Insight sounded interesting enough. It wasn't on any of the files I'd seen either. That left me wondering if Pierce was hiding secrets from even Director Fury. If that was the case than maybe he shouldn't be trusted. Then again the last time I listened to my instincts they almost got me killed.

This wasn't something I should get myself involved in. My life was already difficult enough. I didn't need to get myself involved in anything worse. Besides, if anyone would know anything about Alexander Pierce, it was Director Fury.

* * *

**AN: Apologies for the shorter chapter. Next one will be longer.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

I've started to lose time since I first arrived at this academy.

There weren't any clocks or calendars to look at. I'm sure Fury did this on purpose for the new recruits that were often taken here. But it drove me crazy not knowing what was going on in the world. I haven't spoken to Steve, Tony or Bruce in so long.

Although I'm sure Tony could care less about what I've been up to. Tony was like the crazy uncle I've never wanted. And believe me when I say that. The uncles I grew up with were awesome. But they wouldn't know who I am now if I saw them again.

So far I've learned three different languages. I'd learned Latin, Russian and German fairly easily despite my earlier fears. Natasha had left a few weeks after my first meeting with Jemma and Leo. Apparently she had a mission of her own to go on in Russia of all places. Truthfully I had been hoping she could continue my training. Though I will admit Clint was just as skilled and tough as a teacher, if not worse.

My body was now marked in bruises that would always be there, like a reminder of what I went through. According to Jemma the Tesseract energy in my body was becoming more stabilized as well. From what I'd gathered something had happened that night. Maybe it was from the stress or change in atmosphere that had caused the change. Either way I was thankful that it was under control, for now.

Now I was in the training room, facing off a punching bag Clint was leaning against. I've gotten used to these training exercises. Most of the time he would just take advantage of my smaller size. Since our first sparring session I've definitely gotten better. It took me a few days to notice at first, but soon I was dodging each of his blows and even knocking him off his feet when I had the chance.

"You're gonna have to do better than that." Clint sounded bored as I aimed my fists for the punching bag, moving from side to side as if I was avoiding an enemy's attack. Again I wished I could smack the smug expression off his face. He was beginning to make Tony look like a saint. Then again he probably already did make Tony look like a saint.

Suddenly I lung forward, throwing my leg with all my strength into the punching bag. The attack left Clint struggling to stand while I jumped aside.

"Did I just do that?" I stared in disbelief when I realized what just happened. I'll admit I haven't noticed the change in my muscles or how much stronger I've gotten. Since starting this program my mind had gotten sharper as well. Every little movement was detected from the corner of my eye. I could sense when someone was about to make the next move, or when the situation was about to take a turn for the worse. But right now I was just confused.

"You've learned how to knock over a punching bag, congratulations." Okay, is it just me, or is he acting like a bigger ass than usual?

"Okay, what's going on?" I let my tense shoulders fall once I knew he wasn't going to attack.

"Fury thinks you're ready to go out on the field," Clint suddenly muttered under his breath. It took me a while to understand what he meant by that. The fact that Fury believed _I_ was ready made me wonder if he was losing his mind.

Ready to go out on the field? Yeah right. More like ready to get my ass handed to me every mission I went on. I was nowhere near ready for this.

"When did this come up?"

"Fury talked about it last night," he explained. "Apparently the Council wants to see you in action, find out if he was right to let you join SHIELD."

This time I couldn't help but narrow my eyes. So this was all the Council's idea? I managed to read in more about the Council and this Alexander Pierce character. Fury was supposedly good friends with him. They'd known each other since before SHIELD was even founded.

What I wanted to know was why the Council wanted to see how skilled I was as an agent. I mean, I could understand their nervousness with me. Seeing as I was once the crazy girl who thought this world was just a dream and all. But it was Director Fury who had given me the opportunity to join SHIELD. I had been more than surprised to find out Natasha stood up for me when the Council argued with his decision.

"What exactly do they want me to do?" Knowing the Council they'd send me on one of the most impossible missions they could think of. Like going to the moon. Or better yet, convincing Loki that he was not a God.

"The Council wants to see how you would react to this mission," he told me.

Okay, that made more sense to me. I had a feeling Fury would want to see how differently I reacted to this mission compared to the last one. That mission had failed miserably, and I still flinched every time I thought of it.

"So how soon do we start?" The sudden confidence surprised me more than anything else.

I did feel ready for this. After all I've been through I was more than ready to get out of this place. It felt like I was stuck here for years when it was probably just a few months.

"First thing tomorrow, so pack up and get ready."

With that, Clint left me sitting alone in the gym, still too stunned to speak up again.

This was going to be my first taste of freedom in months. And I couldn't wait.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

The first breath of fresh air in months felt like nothing I'd ever tasted. The Quinjet was parked outside and waiting for us. The academy itself was actually in the middle of a desert, like the base Dmitri had used. Only from what I could see the academy was an underground base that was well hidden from prying eyes.

"So where exactly are we going?" It was the first question that came to mind as Clint led the way. He was by far the best pilot I'd ever seen, next to Tony and Steve.

"You'll see," was the only response I got.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. With everything that was happening I decided not to question him further.

When we piled into the Quinjet I grabbed the files I'd collected before we left the academy. I was eager to find out what went on in the world while I was gone.

"Wait, I've been gone for half a year? Half a freaking year?" I stared at the files in disbelief. I missed Christmas and New Years?

Christmas was one of my favorite holidays. Not because of the free presents but because of what it meant to me. It used to be the one time I didn't fight with my family. Every year before this whole SHIELD adventure started we would get together.

"Time flies when you're in hell," Clint commented with a smirk. To which I returned with a sharp-eyed glare. The engines started running and I continued reading the files.

My eyes widened when I caught something on the files. Some maniac known as the Mandarin had started attacking just before Christmas. Apparently he had a history with Tony Stark, and kidnapped the POTUS. What bothered me more than anything else was that no one had even told me.

"So, when did Stark's mansion get blown up?" I eyed the picture curiously posted at the edge of the file. The mansion was a mess. Smoke could still be made out where the place had gotten blown up. But what really shocked me was that Tony would ever let this happen.

"A few months ago," Clint replied over the com. The roar of the engine would've made it difficult to have any decent conversation. "He managed to stop the Mandarin with the assistance of Colonel Rhodes."

That made sense. I actually liked Rhodes. From the Iron Man movies he seemed like a fun character. And while I never met him in person Tony had always talked about him when he was still in New York.

I sat in the back seat while staring out the windows. Clouds swirled by, and the minutes seemed to pass slowly. In the awkward silence I thought I could hear a fly buzzing around. Normally I was perfectly fine with the silence, but right now I was getting anxious.

Suddenly an idea came to mind. With a sly grin I slipped forward so that I was closer to the cockpit, ignoring the stern look Clint was giving me. I grabbed the iPod I took from the academy and hooked it up to the sound system.

Before he could stop me I started blasting music from Capital Kings. They're an awesome duo that create dubstep Christian music. They've already worked with TobyMac several times and Royal Tailor. As far as I was concerned their music was the best workout music.

"Seriously?" I just grinned when he glared at me.

"Come on, you have to admit they're good." Clint just rolled his eyes and pretended I didn't exist.

That was something I'd gotten used to. Since I found myself in the Marvel universe all of my records vanished. No one knew who I was and so they started ignoring me, treating me like I was a social outcast. Which in truth, I probably was.

This was going to be a long flight.

. . .

We stopped in a small German city known as Hamburg. I was reminded of my first adventure in Germany. That was when Loki had threatened the people of Stuttgart. At the time I had no idea what I was doing. But now I used what I learned to my advantage.

Luckily we were spending our nights in a small motel in separate rooms. I refused to share rooms with another male, especially when said person could easily kill me in my sleep. The room was cheap looking at best.

A small bed was placed in the middle of the room against a wall. One window overlooked the city skyline. The bathroom was pretty small, but it would do. I wasn't planning on spending too much time here anyways.

If my old friends saw me now... they would be totally jealous. Or relieved they weren't in the situations I've been in. There were always times when I missed Casey and her good sense of humor. I moved on from that though.

Clint had given me the file on our mission. And once I was unpacked I decided to read what the file was about.

Apparently people were starting to disappear off the streets. Folks were getting worried about the rapid rise in violence. They believed that it was gang activity involved somehow. The disappearances had started a couple of weeks ago. So far no efforts were made to bring these missing people back.

I jumped when my phone suddenly began to ring. After getting out of the academy it was given back to me by Clint. I almost forgot about it until I pulled it out of my duffel bag. To my surprise the call was from someone I never expected to call me.

"Hey," I said after answering it.

"Hey kid, where the hell have you been?" Tony. Leave it to Tony to call me in the middle of the night.

"I've been... busy," I replied. There was no way in hell I'd tell him where I really was, or had been. I'm sure Tony already knew about SHIELD academy, but it was better to be safe than sorry. "I heard what happened, sorry I wasn't around to help."

There was a break between chat before Tony answered. He sounded stressed out when he finally responded, "Yeah, things have been crazy here. The mansion's getting rebuilt and we moved back to the tower. Rogers told me you'd be gone for a while, but it's been five months."

"Okay Tony, what's this really about?" I knew there was more to this than he was letting on. If Clint knew I was talking to the playboy philanthropist he'd be pissed.

"Shit happened, and I was hoping you'd be able to help out at the main building," he explained.

I stared at the wall in disbelief. Was he serious? I was nowhere near capable of working at Stark Industries. From what I gathered the best of the brightest worked there. And while my math and science skills skyrocketed since the academy, I couldn't compare to the scientists that worked there.

"Tony, you know that's not possible," I warned him. "My life is busy enough as it is."

Another pause followed. For a moment I thought he might have hung up on me. Wouldn't surprise me if he had.

"Then quit SHIELD." The response was quick and to the point. And I almost dropped my phone when I realized he meant those words. "Look, Emma, I know this is totally random of me, but I'm serious." This must be serious if he used my actual name. "Something's going on with SHIELD, something big."

"Look, Tony, I'd love to help you and all, but I've got bigger things to worry about," I muttered.

"Just think about what I told you, and let Birdie know." I couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname everyone seemed to call Clint.

With that, he hung up, leaving me to contemplate what he just told me. If what he said was true then maybe I should listen to his advice. But I've already gone through too much to just quit. On top of that it wasn't in my place to just suddenly pack up and leave.


	15. Chapter 15

"**An ache So deep, That I Can hardly breathe, This pain Can't be imagined Will it ever heal? Ooh... ooh... Your hand So small, Held a strand of my hair So strong, All I could do Was keep believing Was that enough? Is anyone there? I wanna scream Is this a dream? How could this happen, Happen to me? This isn't fair, This nightmare This kind of torture I just can't bear, I want you here...**" I Want You Here, Plumb

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

"So what's the latest?" After taking a decent shower in a cheap motel room, it felt good to get out.

We were sitting in a coffee shop not far from the motel. Here we had free Wi-Fi access. Even if we could easily hack into the system back at the motel, there was no need to raise an alarm. The files were already encrypted, so no one would have access to it other than us.

"You ever hear of child trafficking?" Clint's question caught me by surprise. I took a sip of my hot chocolate before nodding.

I am not a fan of coffee. Don't ask me why but it's something I've never personally enjoyed. And of course everyone I knew seemed to love the stuff.

"Fury wants us to go undercover, and find out what's going on," he explained after pulling out one the files. I raised an eyebrow as I studied the file he showed me.

Sure enough there were images of six children that had gone missing over the last few weeks. Most of them ranged between the ages of eight to twelve. What really caught my attention was what Fury had listed under their names.

These kids had special abilities that were similar to mine. They controlled objects or the elements. And one of the children could even shape shift into different creatures. That in itself was impressive, and it made me wonder why SHIELD hadn't stepped in.

"What happened to them?" I asked warily. If my hunch was right, these kids were likely outcasts in their community. Like me they were probably treated like the lowest of the low. Before I ended up in this world I knew all too well what they went through.

Okay, maybe not with the whole power thing. I didn't even have the special powers I had discovered by accident until I ended up in this world. Somehow with the Tesseract being absorbed in my body, I gained those powers. I never really did fully understand it.

"Take a wild guess," Clint scoffed.

It took me a few seconds to realize what he meant by that. With a roll of my eyes I studied the files a bit more closely.

The file stated that each child went missing only a few days after their powers were discovered. What bothered me more than anything was that no one seemed to look for them. It was like their family had given up on them. The last child to go missing was in London. It could only mean that the next incident would occur somewhere nearby.

"Okay, so what are we supposed to do now?" I glanced up from the file, noticing a smirk playing across Clint's face.

"You're going to be the bait," he replied. The glare I sent him was one that would have shot any man down. But not Clint. After spending so long with Natasha I'm sure he's gotten used to those looks. "You may be older than these kids, but you've already got those abilities of yours to make for an easy target," he added.

"I'm hearing a lot of 'yous'," I muttered under my breath. "So let me get this straight, I'm to put my life on the line and see if these stories are true?" I glanced down at the file once more, knowing damn well that what I saw was real.

Mutants existed, and that was what these kids likely were. Or maybe they were the children of mutants like the X-Men. I've never read the comics or seen anything related to the X-Men, so I can't really say much about them. The only one I really know about is the Wolverine, and that isn't saying much.

"Shouldn't someone more qualified be part of this mission?" I passed the file back to him after taking the time to think this over. There was no way in hell I'd mention the X-Men. I wasn't even sure if Clint or SHIELD knew about them.

"You're the most qualified agent I can think of." I looked at Clint in surprise when he said that.

I took a deep breath and finished the last of my hot chocolate. This couldn't lead to anything good. The files I'd read mentioned something about the kidnappers being dangerous and armed. That was no surprise there.

"Okay... when do we start?" I held back a sigh of frustration as I realized where this was getting at.

. . .

"You have got to be kidding me."

I couldn't help but groan as I looked at the outfit I had on. Of all the things I had to wear in public... this had to be the worst.

What I had on made me look like I had just escaped a psych ward. Baggy clothes that were torn in certain places. Tendrils of string had started to unravel from the fabric. Why Clint had me dressed like this was beyond me.

"You need to blend in," he explained. It sounded more like he was smothering his laughter.

"I think this goes beyond blending in," I muttered crossly. "There is no way in hell I'm going out looking like this." As if to prove my points, one of the sleeves began to tear. In a few seconds the arm where my scars were was left without the protection of a sleeve.

Clint raised an eyebrow in alarm when he noticed the scars for the first time. Only Bruce knew about them, and he still didn't know where they had come from. I was in no hurry to explain what had happened on that day.

"When you go out you'll need to make it obvious, but not to the point where they know something's up," he explained after I quickly got changed again.

No duh. I knew all too well what the consequences were if they knew something was wrong. These people, whoever they were, would likely kill me if they found out I was with SHIELD. Or worse. The last thing I wanted to think about was Dmitri again.

"Let's see just how far we get on this mission." I eyed the mirror warily before heading out.

Hopefully this wouldn't be my last mission. If it was, I would put up the fight of a lifetime.

* * *

**AN: So thank you Whitelion69 for being my only reviewer. And updates for this will be rather sporadic. Thank you for your patience.**


	16. Chapter 16

"**Shut your eyes and think of somewhere Somewhere cold and caked in snow, By the fire we break the quiet, Learn to wear each other well And when the worrying starts to hurt, and the world feels like graves of dirt Just close your eyes until, you can imagine this place, yeah, our secret space at will...**" Shut Your Eyes, Snow Patrol

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Old looking buildings surrounded me as I started wandering down the streets. It was late out, probably around midnight. I hadn't been keeping track of the time I spent out here. Where I was headed time wouldn't matter.

All the while I continued concentrating on the energy that was created by the Tesseract. A blue light began to form in the palm of my hand the harder I concentrated. It amazed me that I was capable of wielding such a light.

Before I wound up in this world, I had no such power. I was just another normal human being... well, as normal as normal got. Wait, that turned out wrong. Okay, maybe I should stop thinking. Thinking makes it harder to concentrate.

The blue light was already attracting some attention. Not the kind of attention I was hoping for, but stares from the pubs and bars I passed by. Men who were likely drunk stumbled out of the old rickety building and gaped at the light. I'm pretty sure if they weren't drunk they would've called the police already.

"Well lookie what we have here gents." I froze when a voice scoffed from behind. Quick as a flash I whirled around, the blue light disappearing as I did so. "You know what happens when kids like you are caught in the streets?" The man speaking was tall, and he was wearing a white mask of some sort.

Obviously these men weren't willing to reveal their identities. Kind of reminds me of Spiderman in a way. Taking a deep breath, I dropped my guard and tried not to look as tense as I felt.

"Take her, the boss could always use more," the second man ordered.

This is where things got tricky. I would need to run. Like, not to the point where I could get away with ease. I needed to make it look like I was just a damsel in distress. So that's exactly what I did. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Most of the running was up hill, but that didn't bother me.

The men giving chase however were having a difficult time keeping up. So I slowed down my pace just a little, remembering what this mission was for. Hopefully the tracking device Clint had given me would work. Otherwise I was screwed.

It took them a good half hour just to catch up with me. When they did I was torn between continuing this game of chase or giving up. Eventually my mind was made up. The two men weren't carrying any weapons as far as I could see. So instead of shooting me like any sane villain would, one of them kicked me in the thigh. The attack sent me reeling in pain, and it was a struggle not to cry out from the surprise.

"This one's a fighter," the white-masked man laughed as I fought off the cuffs. "There, toss 'er in the truck." Before I had a chance to protest, the second man (I seriously needed better names for them) grabbed me by the wrist.

A truck was parked nearby, covered by a dark green tarp. No one seemed to take notice of it or what was going on outside their homes. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It shows how oblivious people are to the world around them.

It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. The street lamps had given me a good view of what the city was like at night. But in here I was surrounded by total strangers. Although I was surprised to see only two other kids younger than me in the truck. Both of them looked terrified as they glanced up at me.

One of them was what looked like an eight-year old girl with short blond hair. She had freckles marking her face and something else that caught my attention. A small cut on her arm that she was struggling to hide.

The second was a boy around the age of ten. He had dark brown hair and was skinnier than the girl. What bothered me more than anything was just how thin he was. I wondered if these kids had been living on the streets until now.

"Hey, are you okay?" I glanced at the girl, who was still trying to hide the cut on her arm. It was still bleeding, and she looked paler than ever at the sight of blood. The girl simply shook her head in response. I took a deep breath before reaching forward. "It's going to be alright, I can heal your cut," I murmured in a gentle tone.

She looked at me with wide, fearful eyes. For a moment it looked like she was going to fight back, but luckily she didn't. She pulled up the sleeve, revealing that the wound was deeper than I thought.

"Just relax, it might sting a little," I added as I placed my hand over the cut. The girl flinched as I concentrated on her injury. In a matter of seconds she began to relax. Her eyes widened in disbelief as her wound began to heal.

"H-How did you do that?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Like you I have... unusual powers," I explained warily. "I guess you could say I'm a mutant." I added the last part with a shrug. God I hope I never run across the X-Men. They'd bitch-slap me across the ocean if they heard me say that.

"You're like us than?" the boy finally spoke up. It took me a few seconds to realize that his mouth wasn't moving. A small smile crossed his face as he looked up at me.

"Arran can speak to us with his mind," the girl told me. "He's mute otherwise."

I nodded as I recognized the ability she was talking about. So Arran here had telepathy. I wondered how that could be useful to the goons that had kidnapped us. Maybe Arran had the ability to read minds as well.

"So... what's your name?" I asked as I looked back at the girl.

"Maddison," she replied quickly. She had a British accent, so I assumed she was from the area. Arran sounded like he had a German accent.

It only just dawned on me that these kids were strangely close despite the fact that they must have just met. That would either make things easier or tougher if we managed to get out of this alive. The last thing I wanted was to watch someone die.

"Okay Maddison, Arran, we're going to get out of this," I told them. Both children raised their eyebrows questioningly. "These people can't keep us locked up forever." Not if I had a say in it.

"_Those people are trying to build an army_," Arran's voice suddenly rang in my head.

That caught my attention. An army. Well that would make sense. Why keep a bunch of kids who were capable of wielding such powers locked up? Maybe these people were brainwashing the kids into believing they were one of them.

The engine on the truck suddenly started running. An eerie silence fell upon us as it began moving. I really hoped the tracking device worked. Otherwise we were going to have to escape on our own. There was no way in hell I'd leave these kids now.

* * *

**AN: Well this was fun to write. Thank you Whitelion69 for reviewing. Every review counts and keeps me motivated.**


	17. Chapter 17

"**There's a place that you're safe That I want you to see, I don't care if it hurts Crash into me, Let tomorrow clear the smoke There's a spark in your heart That's all you need, Let me be your trail of gasoline Don't let the fire get too low When you're tired of faith, And searching for a sign I'll be the light, When there's nothing but night Till now you've had to feel your way, Through the honest lies of yesterday...**" I'll Be The Light, Colton Dixon

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

The men that had captured us put blindfolds over our eyes before we were let off the truck. I could hear the distinctive sound of engines running in the background, and the constant clattering of feet moving across cold cement. Muffled voices seemed to echo off the walls.

Sheer instinct began to kick in, and it took everything I had not to fight back as I was shoved forward. I had no idea where we were being led. After they had finished rounding up two more children out on the street (God only knows why there were so many out this late), they returned to what I assumed was their base.

We walked on in silence. I wasn't sure what was worse; the silence or the constant worrying that clouded my thoughts. Right now it was difficult to concentrate on the path ahead. The voice of someone shouting had caught my attention. It was followed shortly after by a hoarse scream. A shudder ran down my back when I heard a gunshot being fired.

"Pay no mind to what you hear, just business as usual," one of them men sneered as I slowed down my pace.

Yep, I hated this place already. If these men were capable of creating an army, there was no telling what they would do next.

After what felt like hours of walking, we finally stopped. Someone jabbed me forward once the door to wherever we were led to opened. I resisted the urge to glaring, knowing full well they wouldn't see it anyways. In a matter of seconds the blindfolds and handcuffs were removed.

It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the harsh light. There were four girls standing around me, either whispering to one another or shooting me fearful looks. One of them was Maddison. Luckily she didn't look nearly as afraid as the others.

The room itself was about the size of a hotel room. Four beds were placed on either side of the walls. Only one exit was behind us, and it was currently blocked by a guard wearing a mask.

"Better make yourselves comfortable girlies; this is gonna be your home for the next few years," the guard explained in a sneer. "Starting first thing tomorrow you'll find out what you're here for, so keep your traps shut and get to know each other."

Once the guard left his post, locking the door behind us, an uneasy silence fell upon the room. I did everything I could to keep my mind off of the tracking device. I really hoped that Clint was keeping an eye on it. This was bigger than we could've ever imagined.

. . .

He had to admit, the girl did have good acting skills.

Her training showed that as she ran from the goons giving chase. Clint fiddled with his quivers as he watched the scene unfold. She was making this easy for them. Any second rate thief could see that she was suited to running.

Finally the three guards had caught up with her. They were dressed in the outfits that the local police would normally wear. But the truck they had hidden in a back alley was a bit obvious. He was surprised that hadn't risen any suspicions among the local residents.

"Time to go to work," he muttered as he pressed on the tracking device. Luckily the little image on the handheld device he was given worked perfectly. No thanks to the upgrades Stark had given it.

The device suddenly began to make loud beeping noises. Clint began jostling it around, hoping that would shut the noise off. Last thing he needed was to give away his position. After a few more seconds of tampering with the darn thing, it started working again.

He really hoped this plan of Fury's worked. Otherwise they were both screwed. These children were picked off the streets by the vultures. And it was his job as an agent to track them down and put an end to their operations.

. . .

"So, what are your names?" I leaned against the wall after realizing there was no way out. The door had been locked, and this was a good chance to see what these kids were like.

Most of them varied between ages. Maddison was the youngest. The oldest looked thirteen, with long dark blond hair. The girl standing beside her was tall for her age, and she had curly brunette hair. And finally there was the last girl, who was closer to Maddison's age. She had dark brown hair and was wearing a pair of red-framed glasses.

"Janelle," the taller girl replied. I was surprised she had an American accent, like me.

"Annette," the second eldest replied.

"Leah," the smallest girl murmured.

"Maddison," Maddison suddenly piped up. All the girls looked at her warily.

"I'm Emma," I introduced myself, hoping to break down the awkward silence that filled the room.

This room must be soundproof. I imagined the boys, Arron included, were in a separate unit. Maybe that was a good thing, but that would make rescuing them tricky. I was going to have to think this through if we wanted to pull off that rescue.

"Okay, now that introductions are over, what can you do?" I was curious. I'd learned that Maddison could control ice at will.

Her power was discovered when she was six, and she had been on the run ever since. Apparently she often lost control of her powers. She was struggling to learn how to properly use them, but she was never given the chance to.

"I can move things with my mind," Annette explained. As if to prove her point, she focused on the bed nearby. It took me a few seconds to notice that the sheets were moving. Annette's eyes had turned a solid white, and I could see why the girls were huddled together in fear. "I can only move light objects, but I can actually move them."

"That's impressive," I told her. "So is there a reason your eyes turn white?"

Annette eyed me warily before shaking her head. "I'm not sure," she replied. "They've always done that."

Leah was the next to show off her powers. She could make copies of herself at will, but only for a short amount of time. Soon the room was filled with copies of Leah. Maddison jumped as a copy appeared behind her. She giggled when the copy vanished into thin air.

Janelle could control fire from the palms of her hands. I watched curiously as she touched the metal end of the nearest bed. As she touched it the metal began to melt, leaving behind a nasty looking dent where the frame used to be.

Finally it was my turn. The only people I've ever shown my powers to were part of SHIELD. Taking a deep breath, I focused on my powers. Already I could feel the pins and needles returning as the Tesseract reacted.

The four girls stared at my with wide eyes as a blue light appeared in my hand. There was a gap between them, and before any of them knew what was happening, I threw a blast of energy at the wall.

"I'm a lot like you," I explained, nodding to Maddison and Janelle. "But I can also heal any injuries, except for broken bones... if any of you return with any cuts or wounds, just ask me. I'd be more than happy to heal them."

"Why are we here?" Janelle asked warily. She was sitting on the bed now, looking down at the floor. I assume she hasn't been here that long, otherwise she would already know why. "I only discovered my powers just two weeks ago, but one day I was walking home with a friend and these men jumped us." Tears started streaming down her cheeks, and I realized there was more to this story than she was telling. "I gave myself up so that Tessa could escape. She was the only one who knew."

Quietly I joined her and sat on the bed beside her. Janelle had seemed so strong before. Now she was broken down and in tears. As the eldest I knew it was my job to watch over these kids. This was what SHIELD had trained me for.

"Hey, it'll be okay," I told her in a reassuring tone. Janelle looked at me in confusion. Despite the situation, I couldn't help but flinch.

Her eyes reminded me of myself when I was her age. Back then I was still a social outcast. I probably still am. But it was worse. Back then the scars were still a fresh memory. I had taken the chance to run away and not look back at what my parents would think about my choice.

Janelle still probably had a family that cared about her. I couldn't let these people take that away from these kids. They still had a future that was burning bright.

"We'll get out of this, somehow," I whispered, hoping that I was right.

One way or another we would get out of here. I just needed to work on our escape plan.

* * *

**AN: So there's the next chapter. I'll be on vacation for the next few days, so there won't be any updates until I'm back. I might run a double update just to make up for the lack of updates. Not too sure though. Anywho, thanks to Whitelion69 and Welcome To The New for reviewing!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

I woke up to find myself in a different room. The first thing I noticed was the harsh light shining down on my face. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light. When they finally did I realized that I was strapped to a table of some kind.

"Don't resist," a voice called from behind. I tried moving my head, only to find that was almost impossible.

"She shows no signs of being one of them," said another voice in an angry tone.

"Yet she controls an energy we have not seen," the first voice retorted. "She can be the first test subject."

Upon those words I began struggling more, finding that I was unable to spit something in response. Anything I did say might get me killed. These men, whoever they were, had obviously known I would try breaking free. I was sure most of the kids they had captured would try freeing themselves at this point.

"The pain you feel is only temporary, my dear," the first voice added.

All I could do was glare as a figure leaned forward.

Remember when I mentioned how much I hated needles? That fear was slowly coming back as the man in question had a syringe in his hand. My heartbeat quickened when I realized where this was going.

The pain that followed made my blood burn. Or at least that was what it felt like. My wrists clenched as I struggled in vein to free myself. It felt worse than any pain I've ever endured in my life. Memories of when I was still in middle school suddenly came rushing back. The pain I felt than was nothing compared to this. But I could still hear their taunting laughter in the background. I could still see the glares they gave me when it was over.

"Interesting... this one has strong memories," the second voice murmured.

"A good indication that she will survive," the first voice stated.

I managed to glare at whoever was speaking. They were scientists, judging by the lab coats I finally spotted at the edge of my vision. Wonderful. Men like these were giving scientists a bad name.

By now the pain was starting to dull, replaced by black spots appearing. Again I started to struggle, only this time the restraints began to tear.

"Put 'er out!" the second man shouted. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening. But by than it was too late. The scientists had already knocked me out. After that I wasn't sure what would happen next.

. . .

Two days. It had taken him two days to reach this place.

The tracking device had malfunctioned every ten minutes, making the journey difficult. Clint had a good idea though as to where these kids were taken. Close to the edge of Hamburg.

From what he gathered there was an abandoned warehouse near the edge of the city. The men responsible for these kidnappings were likely running operations here. He had heard rumors of the children having special abilities, confirming that they were indeed mutants that appeared human.

When he did finally reach the warehouse, he noticed that it was heavily guarded. No surprise there. Men walking around armed with weapons would make for an easy target.

This was going to be fun.

. . .

"Is she alright?"

"Are they going to do that to us too?"

I held back a groan as I started waking up. The voices buzzing around my head seemed never ending. The blue around my vision began to clear, and I was back in our room.

The four girls were staring at me, wide-eyed and looking terrified.

"Are you okay?" Maddison asked.

Carefully I rubbed the back of my head, still trying to figure out what had happened. I remembered the scientists and what they had done to me. Now I understood where the throbbing headache had come from.

"I'll be fine when you stop asking questions," I grumbled. Maddison took a step back as I struggled to stand up. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours, give or take," Annette replied with a shrug. "Leah thought you were dead." She pointed accusingly at Leah, whose eyes widened in horror.

"I did not!" she protested.

I couldn't help but smirk as the girls began arguing. This reminded me of high school. Though in high school it was usually a much bigger bitch fest. Mostly every girl in high school wanted to start an argument over something so stupid. I usually stayed out of them, much to their distaste.

"What did they do to you?" Janelle suddenly asked.

Warily I eyed her before taking a deep breath, recalling everything I could. Everyone in the room stared at me in horror as I told them about the syringe.

There was still so much I wanted to know about this syringe the scientists had used. Like what it did to me and why they did it. The panic I felt earlier had dissolved into nothing. But it was replaced with the need to take these men down.

"They said I will survive," I whispered. Tears suddenly began forming at the edge of Maddison's eyes. I could understand why she was so terrified. She shouldn't have to face this at her age.

I didn't get much of a chance to say anything else. The door suddenly slid open, revealing a slender looking woman with shabby brown hair.

"Good, you're awake," she sighed in relief. "And here I thought things would be difficult."

None of us had a chance to react as she pulled out a pistol. The woman was about to fire when I shot a blast of energy aimed for her hand. Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits when the pistol was dropped to the floor.

How did I do that? Normally my powers only worked if I concentrated on them. The woman simply smirked and grabbed another pistol, this time firing at my leg. The girls huddling behind me screamed in horror as I slumped to the floor, trying to ignore the pain that would follow.

But I was surprised to feel no pain. In fact the wound had already started healing. The woman's smirk widened as if I had passed a test.

"Test subject shows signs of success," she whispered through what I assumed was an earpiece.

The woman was writing something down on a clipboard once she finished speaking. By the time I recovered from the shock she had finished her writing.

I wasted no time in grabbing her by the wrist, causing her to drop the clipboard and shout in surprise. She didn't have a chance to fight back as I hurled her into a wall, ignoring the girls shouting in the background for me to stop.

"What the hell did you freaks do to me?" I demanded, my voice dropping to a whisper.

"Like I'd tell you-" I cut her off by allowing the Tesseract energy to burn her skin. Somehow the power had gotten stronger, and I used that to my advantage. The woman was struggling not to scream in agony. "Alright, alright!" My grip lessened slightly as she finally gave in. "We enhanced your powers. The drug was meant to be used on mutants, but you're clearly not a mutant."

"How do you know?" I pressed harder again.

"Your blood is different from the others," the woman explained. "We couldn't find any traces of enhanced abilities... only something alien in nature in your blood."

That made me drop her in disbelief. I knew the Tesseract wasn't from Earth. It's origins were unknown to me. All I knew was that it had somehow fused itself with my blood. I could use these powers to help others.

The woman staggered to her feet, shaking with fear as she backed away from the room. I fired another shot of energy in her direction as she managed to slip away.

Fuck you crazy scientists. I wished I knew what was going on. The only information I had so far was that these people were trying to build an army. And they were enhancing the abilities of the children they kidnapped.

"H-How did you do that?" Annette's voice was filled with awe as she looked at me.

"They're not going to do that to you," I promised as I let my anger subside. "We're getting out of this place."

* * *

**AN: I decided to get this posted while I still had wi-fi. This chapter was halfway finished before I left, so... yeah. Thanks Whitelion69 for reviewing! You are awesome :D**


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